Tag: Politics

Opinion

Leftism’s Abstract Principle Problem

BY SEAN WALSH The government’s response to the invasion of frustrated young men from sexually regressive and misogynistic cultures—men who are acculturated to casual violence and the cheapening of human life—is to insist that the incoming violence must be distributed “fairly” across the whole country. That is not quite true. The instinctive response is not policy-related at all, but rather to gather some words—fair, share, … Continue reading Leftism’s Abstract Principle Problem

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Rewilding

Not Another One!

BY BERT BURNETT Scotland’s environmental agency NatureScot has unveiled a new twenty year strategy to restore its native wildcats, with the ambition of seeing populations recover and thrive by 2045. The strategy brings together 26 organisations to coordinate conservation efforts for one of Scotland’s most threatened native species. The plans include restoring and reconnecting habitat, establishing new wildcat populations, reducing hybridisation with domestic cats and … Continue reading Not Another One!

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Books, International

In Service of the Republic

BY THE EDITOR In Service of the Republic: The Art and Science of Economic Policy by Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah presents itself as a sober, technocratic intervention in India’s policy discourse. The authors, both esteemed former senior civil servants and professional economists, argue that India’s economic trajectory, particularly the marked deceleration after 2011, reflects a failure of institutional capacity rather than intent. Their diagnosis is … Continue reading In Service of the Republic

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editorial

The Ban on Cool Burning is an Act of Faith, Not Science

CSM EDITORIAL The admission slips out with increasing regularity from those responsible for prohibiting rotational cool burning on England’s uplands. Yes, they concede, it may take years for rewetted land to reach a state where it is naturally protected from wildfire. The honesty is welcome, if somewhat late. What they omit is that any such transition remains entirely speculative. There is no evidence base demonstrating … Continue reading The Ban on Cool Burning is an Act of Faith, Not Science

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countryside

RSPB Greed?

BY NICK PEARCE The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has introduced a ticket-only parking restriction at its Snettisham reserve in Norfolk for the Wader Spectacular days. Visitors must now book a parking space in advance on the RSPB website and pay a fee—including paid-up members. The Wader Spectacular is a natural phenomenon where tens of thousands of waders swirl in the skies … Continue reading RSPB Greed?

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Art

Bring Back the Cock

BY PAVITRA SHAH Right. Let us dispense with the pleasantries. Trafalgar Square—Nelson’s column, the lions, the fountains, the National Gallery—has just been graced with what can only be described as a giant, blue, bronze participation trophy. Lady In Blue, by New York artist Tschabalala Self, is the sixteenth artwork to squat on the Fourth Plinth since 1998. It is also, without question, the most tediously, grindingly, … Continue reading Bring Back the Cock

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Rural Towns

A Kingdom for a Bookshop

BY LIZ HODGKINSON In the early 1960s, two small rural towns 160 miles apart faced similar problems. Their young people were going to university and never returning, leaving the places denuded of their brightest and best. Today, these two towns, Hay-on-Wye (main photograph) on the Welsh border, and St Neots in Cambridgeshire, my own hometown, have very different outcomes. Hay is internationally known as the … Continue reading A Kingdom for a Bookshop

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Culture, Religion

Raving in the Nave

BY SEAN WALSH The London nightclub Fabric (which temporarily closed in 2016 after just a handful of drug-related deaths) has agreed a four-year contract with St Paul’s Cathedral (consecrated to the worship of God in 604 AD). Why? This is how the club’s owner sees things: Over the next four years, we’ll present a broad range of artists from across the contemporary music landscape, with … Continue reading Raving in the Nave

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Government

Digital Magna Carta

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN The British establishment’s resistance to artificial intelligence in governance masquerades, at best, as principled conservatism, a defence of the constituency surgery, the ministerial red box, the human touch. It is, in truth, a defence of administrative fiefdoms. The civil service, the silent colossus of Whitehall, has become the obstacle to the democratic will it was designed to serve. The answer is not … Continue reading Digital Magna Carta

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International, Wildfires

Have Spain´s Wildfire Communities Already Been Forgotten?

BY ED ANDERSON If you were to step off at Manuela Malasaña metro in Móstoles in July, you´d be greeted by a typical Madrid satellite town. A Basic Fit here, a baking Plaza del Sol there and a smattering of bars that thankfully won´t be changing you 5 euros a caña. Mercifully, there is not an instagrammer in sight. However, hidden away here and in … Continue reading Have Spain´s Wildfire Communities Already Been Forgotten?

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Opinion

Norcross Knows Cricket’s Soul

BY SEAN WALSH Traditions exist for the preservation of the truths, practices, and things which comfort us, so that we can pass these gifts on to people not yet alive. Modernism exists to disrupt all this via energetic historical revisionism and a continuous recreation of Year Zero. To the modernist, the inheritance rights of future generations are no more than useful fictions intended to serve … Continue reading Norcross Knows Cricket’s Soul

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Smallholder

Aspiga

BY ALLISON LEE Whilst we are all well aware of the rapid damage our planet is suffering, not everyone knows how they can help minimise environmental harm and social exploitation. Yet each of us can make a significant difference simply by considering where we buy our clothing. Fast fashion brands enable rapid production and target fashion-conscious consumers seeking trendy, low-cost clothes. This inherently drives environmental … Continue reading Aspiga

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Transport

In Defence of Doctor Beeching

BY NIALL McRAE The 1960s moderniser tried to improve Britain’s transport (unlike current policies) Six decades have passed since the last train left West Bexhill. The ornate Edwardian building has survived, now used for auctions, with a café in the former ladies’ waiting room. The spur of the London to Hastings line closed in the Sixties by the ‘Beeching cuts’, the town being served by … Continue reading In Defence of Doctor Beeching

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countryside

Reform UK’s Countryside Dilemma

BY NIGEL MANN Reform UK is making a determined pitch to rural Britain, positioning itself as the champion of a countryside it claims has been neglected and “scapegoated” by Westminster elites. Its platform, focused on backing farmers, cutting red tape, and scrapping “net zero” targets, directly targets a constituency that feels increasingly invisible. However, this strategy is fraught with internal contradictions, exemplified by the recent … Continue reading Reform UK’s Countryside Dilemma

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Social Commentary

The Carnival

BY ALEX STORY The August Bank Holiday weekend fills the good people of Notting Hill with dread. Those who can flee do; those who can’t board themselves up inside their houses. Their front gardens, if they have one, front doors and outside walls will be used by the throngs as municipal facilities. A couple of years ago, after two fatalities, eight stabbings and over sixty … Continue reading The Carnival

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The International Supreme Sheepdog Trial 2026

BY ALLISON LEE Organised by the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS), the International Supreme Sheepdog Trial is a prestigious annual event that brings together top handlers and their dogs from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to compete for the title of Supreme Champion. The competition showcases the dogs’ natural instincts and abilities, as well as the strength of their partnership with their handlers. Using only … Continue reading The International Supreme Sheepdog Trial 2026

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Design

Simple, Elegant & Functional

BY NICHOLAS ENGERT In a world of over abundance and hence over consumption, we increasingly fail to discern between what is truly beautiful and yet functional and the cheap or vulgar alternative. Consider three simple objects we use around our homes, namely a pencil, a flower pot and a tea towel. So pedestrian and mundane are these articles we fail to appreciate that their elegance … Continue reading Simple, Elegant & Functional

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