Tag: stewart slater

Education

From DEI to Dystopia: Reclaiming the University’s True Purpose

BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD The Arday scandal is a chance to ‘restore’ academia in Britain Following the tragic death of Jason Arday, the Prime Minister has called for a period of reflection. I agree. We need to reflect on how we can avoid such a tragedy happening again and how we can restore the intellectual rigour of academia in Britain. Instead of removing the systemic … Continue reading From DEI to Dystopia: Reclaiming the University’s True Purpose

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Social History

Who Rules Best? Lords of the Manor or Marxist Milibands?

BY NIALL MCCRAE Passing Port Talbot en route to Pembrokeshire for a family holiday, I gazed across the vast complex of furnaces, chimneys and warehouses, all lying silent since the Net Zero axe was wielded by Ed Miliband (until recently Keir Starmer’s minister for energy rationing). Most of the heavy industry of South Wales has disappeared, leaving rundown towns with high streets occupied by vape … Continue reading Who Rules Best? Lords of the Manor or Marxist Milibands?

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Language

Accent – The Last Taboo in Britain

BY DR ALEX BARATTA As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him”. In 2026, this quote still has arguable validity, though it’s perhaps not about hatred per se. Rather, accent bias is more to do with believing that certain accents are a bad fit for specific professions and … Continue reading Accent – The Last Taboo in Britain

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Opinion

Devolution Is a Deflection, Not a Diagnosis

BY MANRAJ ATWAL The King is dead; Long live the King! Or so the media declare as Britain faces up to its seventh Prime minister in a decade. The seemingly ritualistic axing of our head of government has been accompanied by all the usual rites. The choir of voices declaring “The grownups are back in charge”, the scuttling of MPs as they preach the virtues … Continue reading Devolution Is a Deflection, Not a Diagnosis

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editorial

A Gift to Death-Spiral Labour

CSM EDITORIAL Amidst a political landscape saturated with gaffes, scandals, and the dystopian reality of an unelected Prime Minister in Andy Burnham, one might expect the Conservative Party to be capitalising on every Labour misstep with ruthless efficiency. The resignation then reappointment of Louise Haigh amidst her fraud conviction, the myriad of CV mistruths emanating from the inexperienced Labour frontbench, and the sheer illegitimacy of … Continue reading A Gift to Death-Spiral Labour

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Smallholder

Wrendale

BY ALLISON LEE Hannah Dale and her husband, Jack, founded Wrendale Designs in 2012—a giftware brand built around Hannah’s watercolour paintings of wildlife. With a background in zoology, Hannah has long drawn creative inspiration from the natural world. Over the years, the couple have grown Wrendale into a much-loved brand with global reach, winning numerous industry awards and two King’s Awards for International Trade. The … Continue reading Wrendale

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Book Reviews

Riding Through War and Peace

BY JAMIE FOSTER In the summer of 2014, with the rumble of dragons awakening in the form of Russia’s seizure of Crimea, Michael Pugh made an audacious decision. Despite the splendour of his life as an expat lawyer in Moscow, he chose to leave—not by plane or train, but by horse. The resulting memoir, Riding Through War and Peace, is a breathtaking odyssey that captures a … Continue reading Riding Through War and Peace

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Social Commentary

Blessed

BY PERCY THORLEY England is in fine fettle There seems to be a constant flow of negative news stories coming, in part from the mainstream media, but in greater abundance from the online media. I fail to recognise the issues raised in these dark corners of the mediasphere for to be alive in England today is to be truly blessed. The economy powers ahead, innovation … Continue reading Blessed

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Jottings

Reggie goes to Encaenia

BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD Reggie stabbed at the bell. “Mrs Daddywood!” “Morning, Mr Reggie. There is a letter here for you, pet. I’ll be there in one sec.” “Oh rather, let’s be having it,” said Reggie as he concealed the Hendrick’s and cucumber behind the Edwardian ‘plum pudding’ mahogany centre table. Reggie was still a tad squiffy after last night’s escapade at the Ath., but … Continue reading Reggie goes to Encaenia

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Books, Travel

The City Speaks in Small Voices

BY ROGER WATSON The sleek black Mercedes S350, summoned on my Uber app, drew up outside our hotel at Heathrow Airport minutes after I entered my request for a car to Terminal 5. Out popped a smartly dressed driver, beaming from ear to ear to assist with our luggage. The car was spacious, immaculate, and the journey was smooth. I detected an accent that was … Continue reading The City Speaks in Small Voices

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Opinion

Ethel

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN There is a certain species of political creature that haunts the Westminster warren, a beast that is best understood not through the lens of constitutional theory or fiscal policy, but through the dusty, half-lit prism of an Irish builder’s breast pocket. I once knew such a builder. A tragic figure, in the end—murdered, as it happens, which is a rather definitive way … Continue reading Ethel

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countryside, Muirburn

The Burning Question

BY BERT BURNETT Why Gamekeepers Are Refusing to Endorse the New Muirburn Code Scotland’s gamekeepers have issued a stark warning: they will not endorse the Scottish Government’s new Muirburn Code, a decision they claim is born not of defiance, but of a desperate need to prevent catastrophic wildfires. They argue that the new regulations, designed to protect peatlands, will ironically create a tinderbox, stripping them … Continue reading The Burning Question

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Rewilding

Rewilders’ Wolf Howlers

BY CALUM CAMPBELL & NICK PEARCE The prospect of reintroducing wolves (Canis lupus) to the Scottish Highlands has become a recurring topic in environmental discourse, frequently accompanied by claims that this measure would naturally resolve Scotland’s deer management challenges, restore ecological equilibrium, and even contribute substantively to climate change mitigation. While these arguments possess considerable intuitive appeal and have garnered significant public support, a rigorous … Continue reading Rewilders’ Wolf Howlers

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Farming

Not Again!

BY CHARLES FARROW A Country Squire’s Guide to the Incomprehensible Stupidity of the Incomer Let me get this straight. They move out from London—Islington, usually, or that bit of Clapham where the sourdough costs more than a good collie—and within a fortnight they’ve got the RSPCA on speed dial and a Facebook post accusing us landowners of “livestock negligence.” The cheek. The absolute bleeding cheek. … Continue reading Not Again!

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Thoughts

Postmodern Politics

BY SEAN WALSH “Sound out 30 Manchester adjacent constituencies! There must be at least one with a humiliation fetish!” The “leadership contest” in the Labour Party is like the “war in Iran” in that neither is actually a real thing. Unless you can have a war without any warring or a competition for a job which doesn’t exist. It’s all very “postmodern”, as if things … Continue reading Postmodern Politics

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