David Cameron's not the only one who doesn't know our island story
Given the reaction to David Cameron's appearance on David Letterman, it's surely only a matter of time before the Prime Minister is asked to ceremonially return his Oxford diploma, before being...
View ArticleThis EU budget vote exposes Parliament's powerlessness
Throughout much of this country’s history, the principal function of Parliament has been to raise revenue. From the time of Magna Carta, even the most despotic rulers have not been able to levy taxes,...
View ArticleCommon law is incompatible with EU criminal jurisdiction
In Brussels, one or two Sir Humphrey types are still talking about which EU justice and home affairs policies we might want to opt back into after exercising our block exemption. But the debate in...
View ArticleCelebrate Magna Carta with me at Runnymede on Friday
London in August 1647 was a tense and frightened city. The Civil War had exhausted England and coarsened her people. Parliament had emerged victorious, but it was becoming clear that power lay with the...
View ArticleA secular miracle set the English-speaking peoples apart
At Runnymede, at Runnymede What say the reeds at Runnymede? The lissom reeds that give and take, That bend so far, but never break, They keep the sleepy Thames awake With tales of John at Runnymede. At...
View ArticleEurope has stolen the rights we won at Magna Carta. Let's fight to reclaim them
I wonder if when he announced his policy of fixed-term Parliaments David Cameron had taken in to account that we would be celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta at the time of the general...
View ArticleThe smears against Nigel Farage – and the freedoms of Magna Carta
As we approach polling day in the European election the efforts to discredit and smear Nigel Farage and Ukip approach a hysterical crescendo. There is, however, regrettably little attempt to deal with...
View ArticleName a British value? Easy: liberty
Sarcasm is one of our uglier national attributes. The moment Michael Gove called for “British values” to be taught in schools, you knew that social media would hum with that superior cynicism that...
View Article'Did Magna Carta die in vain?' Cameron doesn't know how to teach Britishness...
David Cameron says that schools should teach the “British values” enshrined in Magna Carta, which, apparently, laid the foundations of our democracy. As Tony Hancock out it: “Did Magna Carta mean...
View ArticleThe cult of Magna Carta is historical nonsense. No wonder Oliver Cromwell...
Magna Carta has an iconic status. To many, it is the foundation stone of English liberty – the guarantor of the freedoms we cherish, and the solemn legal basis for our centuries-old way of life. It is...
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