Diversions Manifold

From  View from the EU: Britain 'taken over by gamblers, liars, clowns and their cheerleaders' , a view from Helene von Bismarck: “Populists depend on enemies, real or imagined, to legitimise their actions and deflect from their own shortcomings,” she said. If the EU has been the “enemy abroad” since 2016, it will steadily be replaced by “enemies within”: MPs, civil servants, judges, lawyers, experts, the BBC. Oversimplification, lack of nuance are greedily seen as ways of cutting the Gordian knot of complex debate and "getting things done". There are times and places for such methods, but not permanently in running a country.  Also, from John Crace in the same paper ( On Boris's big day, Tories kid themselves this is the deal they always wanted ) "He had united his party – if only temporarily – over Europe. So it was job done for Boris, as Brexit had mainly only been about divisions within his own party. "

Labour had a seemingly impossible decision to make regarding the Brexit trade deal vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday 30th December. Labour leader Keir Starmer is quoted as saying: “The choice before the house today is perfectly simple. Do we implement the treaty that has been agreed with the EU, or do we not? If we choose not to, the outcome is clear: we leave the transition period without a deal. Without a deal on security, on trade, on fisheries. Without protection for our manufacturing sector, for farming, for countless businesses. And without a foothold to build a future relationship with the EU.” To me, the words "perfectly simple" are rather disingenuous. Starmer tried to portray the judgement as a binary choice, whereby all other considerations are neglected. That can be seen as clear leadership; it can also be a sign of a leader uncomfortable with conflict.  Fortunately, there was some public debate on the day: [Stella] Creasy said in a statement on her websi

I’ve had this Diversions Manifold blog for coming up to a decade now and, as is typical for most blogs, I’ve come to it in spurts, let it lie dormant for long stretches, then returned enlightened, enthused and energised. (repeat the cycle) We’re sometime between Christmas 2020 and the New Year, and I’ve had time to wind down from work, to feel the gradual return of the energy and freedom of mind to actually start writing (and editing) things that are not work emails or documentation, test reports or goals and targets for 2021. So it’s time to review Diversions Manifold, to jot down what its purpose in life is, and to see where I might take it. Alongside the where to , it’s pertinent to ask, when would I write? Maybe blogging is principally something for the holidays, when I'm rested and have time to reflect and to write. But for 2021, I will try and maintain a more frequent cadence of writing here.  For that to happen, I need to restate (to myself) why I’m doing this (to myself),