Tuesday, 17 March 2026
I, Me, Myself
The other day found Mrs H and I chatting about people who seem to be the only significant character in their personal world. For such people, everyone else seems to have no background worth discovering and little in the way of an independent personality.
The simplest examples are people who may be chatty, pleasant and affable but never quite manage to talk about anything but themselves and their own circumstances. Their conversation always veers towards their own lives and it soon becomes obvious that they aren’t genuinely interested in anyone else and never will be.
For example, Mrs H and I once knew two people on a walking group who would always chat quite pleasantly for hours, but seemed incapable of chatting about anything but themselves and their own lives. We weren’t the only ones who noticed it.
Both of these pleasantly self-centred people were socially active and willingly gave their time for worthy causes, but in a curious way they seemed to do it for themselves, not for others. Yet it would be too cynical to point this out except privately to people who notice these things. People do notice though, it’s not uncommon to come across such people.
The behaviour of professional politicians seems to be much the same. We tend to assume there is a furtive schemer behind the politician, but what we see, the engagement with noble causes coupled with indifference to real people – there are similarities.
Monday, 16 March 2026
The Lanyard Made Flesh
Marcus Walker has a delightfully pungent Critic piece on government by the lanyard class.
The malignant mediocrity of managerialism
A country ruled by lawyers and HR managers will be culturally dessicated and politically sclerotic
It is one of history’s ironies that the House of Commons voted to slash trials by jury on the same day as the House of Lords voted finally to expel the last remaining hereditary peers from Parliament.
It was the hereditary barons of England who forced King John to agree that “No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers…” The barons have gone, and so have our ancient liberties, and both on the same day. Only the bishops still sit in that ancient council, heirs of Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury who led the barons against the king in 1215. They are unlikely to be removed right now because no Labour leader with any sense would remove 26 cast-iron supporters from the upper house.
There is something more than historical timing that links these two decisions. They both reflect the belief that the only people trusted to make decisions are those who have been properly credentialled and have been authorised by people like us. If you want to know who the “us” is, look at who dominates the Labour Party, the Civil Service, the National Trust, the Church of England, and every other institution of note. A world run for and by a managerial legalistic caste, in which it is impossible to rise, or even survive, if you do not submit to their marks of authority, mediated by speaking the right language, submitting to the right training, earning the right credentials. Deep mediocrity calls to deep mediocrity, and proof of it only comes with a certificate.
The whole piece is well worth reading for the entertaining way it scythes through the desperate mediocrity of our governing classes.
This whole reform is a consequence of having Keir Starmer — the Lanyard Made Flesh — sitting in Number 10. Of course the man who once headed the Crown Prosecution Service believes only lawyers should be involved in judging crime; of course he doesn’t trust any old widow, tramp, salesman, student, business woman, or golf club gardener to try a person for their liberty. How could he? He has been trained and has the certificates for it, they have not. Law is something done to people not by people.
The malignant mediocrity of managerialism
A country ruled by lawyers and HR managers will be culturally dessicated and politically sclerotic
It is one of history’s ironies that the House of Commons voted to slash trials by jury on the same day as the House of Lords voted finally to expel the last remaining hereditary peers from Parliament.
It was the hereditary barons of England who forced King John to agree that “No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers…” The barons have gone, and so have our ancient liberties, and both on the same day. Only the bishops still sit in that ancient council, heirs of Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury who led the barons against the king in 1215. They are unlikely to be removed right now because no Labour leader with any sense would remove 26 cast-iron supporters from the upper house.
There is something more than historical timing that links these two decisions. They both reflect the belief that the only people trusted to make decisions are those who have been properly credentialled and have been authorised by people like us. If you want to know who the “us” is, look at who dominates the Labour Party, the Civil Service, the National Trust, the Church of England, and every other institution of note. A world run for and by a managerial legalistic caste, in which it is impossible to rise, or even survive, if you do not submit to their marks of authority, mediated by speaking the right language, submitting to the right training, earning the right credentials. Deep mediocrity calls to deep mediocrity, and proof of it only comes with a certificate.
The whole piece is well worth reading for the entertaining way it scythes through the desperate mediocrity of our governing classes.
This whole reform is a consequence of having Keir Starmer — the Lanyard Made Flesh — sitting in Number 10. Of course the man who once headed the Crown Prosecution Service believes only lawyers should be involved in judging crime; of course he doesn’t trust any old widow, tramp, salesman, student, business woman, or golf club gardener to try a person for their liberty. How could he? He has been trained and has the certificates for it, they have not. Law is something done to people not by people.
2 + 2 = 5
Ed Miliband says Labour will 'fight people's corner' on energy costs - but not how
The energy secretary has told Sky News that the government will "fight people's corner" as the war in Iran threatens a fresh energy price crisis.
Mr Miliband said: "We're going to fight people's corner... when it comes to the effects on them. That's why this week, we've been saying to the petrol retailers, the heating oil companies, we're not going to tolerate price gouging. We're not going to tolerate unfair practices.
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| Edward Samuel Miliband |
Sunday, 15 March 2026
Ed Dives In
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| Sir Edward Jonathan Davey |
Davey demands 'new Magna Carta' to protect Britain from Trump
Sir Ed Davey has called for Britain to adopt a new written constitution, arguing it is essential to make the nation "resistant to authoritarian creeps like Donald Trump".
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat spring conference, the party leader advocated for a "new Magna Carta" to safeguard the UK's fundamental commitments to human rights, the NHS, and freedom of expression from potential erosion.
Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?
I do not blame myself for anything
Rachel Reeves gives damning verdict on Brexit’s impact on Britain
- Rachel Reeves has stated in an interview with The Times that Brexit has negatively impacted Britain's economy, growth, and prices.
- The Chancellor advocates for closer economic ties with the European Union, describing it as the "biggest prize" for the UK.
I do not blame myself for anything. I am a result, not a
cause. I am trying to think. I am not through yet. I am going to begin again
when I get things thought out.
Sherwood Anderson - Windy McPherson's Son (1916)
How's it going Rodney?
How Starmer’s inner circle colluded to see no evil, hear no evil on Mandelson
Matthew (now Lord) Doyle, Sir Keir’s then director of communications, and Morgan McSweeney, his then chief of staff, were handed the job of conducting due diligence on the “Prince of Darkness”, who happened to be a long-standing friend of both...
The initial due diligence on the peer was so informal that it seems to have been done via conversations with Lord Mandelson, rather than in writing, meaning official records are sketchy.
Epstein supplied Mandelson with illegal drugs and Botox while he was in government
Jeffrey Epstein illegally supplied Peter Mandelson with drugs while he was a government minister, The Mail on Sunday can reveal...
The astonishing exchanges came while Epstein was under house arrest after his conviction for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl. And in the most shocking message, Mandelson tells the sex offender that drugs thought to be Xanax sedatives are 'all very well but you need someone to use them on…'
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