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The Bruges Group spearheaded the intellectual battle to win a vote to leave the European Union and, above all, against the emergence of a centralised EU state.
The Bruges Group spearheaded the intellectual battle to win a vote to leave the European Union and, above all, against the emergence of a centralised EU state.
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Bruges Group Blog

Spearheading the intellectual battle against the EU. And for new thinking in international affairs.

democracy

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Michael Wood

Were all our tomorrows yesterday?

thumb-440352_1920-1 84 Wasted Years
'Thirteen Wasted Years' is the war cry of Starmer's Labour party. To those who remember, it simply demonstrates that they have not got a new idea - on anything. The slogan was used by Wilson for the 1964 General Election. I suggest that the truth is that, apart from Thatcher, we have had 84 wasted years, well 79 if one deducts WW2. Neville Chamberl...
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Law Labour Party Socialism Democracy Deniers democracy
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Derek Bennett

Too Many Chiefs

tax-office-3102460_1920 Too Many Chiefs
There is an old saying for organisations that are over managed, which is: 'Too many chiefs and not enough indians'. No doubt such a saying these days falls foul of the P.C., woke, right-on campaigners and mad leftie nutters, who will want anyone cancelled for saying such a thing. However, as I stay clear of all social media as I feel it is the inte...
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Taxes democracy economy Civil Service Waste
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Rolf Norfolk

Wannabe Dictators

newera
Why do we ape America, but so badly? Let's start with our 'big brother': On Tuesday, an editor at Fox News (fascists!) subtitled a live feed 'WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.' The banner was taken down within seconds and the editor told to get his National Insurance card stamped or whatever they ...
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boris johnson Trump biden clinton democracy
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Rolf Norfolk

Greece's New Democracy

acropolis-ge0841e931_1280
From Our Man In Thessaloniki Greeks go to the polls on Sunday to elect their national legislature. Voting is compulsory, even for Greeks abroad (as so many are, since the economy crashed), but the obligation is not enforced and the turnout in 2019 was less than 58%. Foreigners who are permanently resident may also take part (something that our Sir ...
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Greece Grexit democracy election Syriza
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Derek Bennett

Reforming the House Of Lords

change-671376_1920 Change is Overdue
It was often said about the anatomy of a bumble bee, when looked at its shape and size of wings, that they should not be able to fly, but do. There are lots of things like bumble bees that should not work but do, the House of Lords in the days before Tony Blair got his meddling mitts on it worked reasonably well. In those days the majority of membe...
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House of Lords Reform democracy Gerrymandering
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Colin Bullen

Broken Promises

broken Broken Promises
Rishi Sunak's government is consistent in one thing. It makes promises to implement policies clearly aimed at public support, only to, within a short period, to unfailing announce that it will not after all go ahead, or that oi might, but only at some indeterminate point in the future. Far from providing a reason to vote Conservative it is generati...
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Renege on Promises Brexit Opportunities Brexit Vote Integrity democracy
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Rolf Norfolk

Fatal Traction: How Bad Ideas Gain Currency In Government

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Three years ago today (2nd May) my MP wanted to demonstrate her responsivity to her constituents, which makes a welcome difference from the types that have allegedly represented me in the past. Unfortunately, we have locally an equivalent to Theodore Roosevelt's 'hyphenated Americans': some people who wish to embroil us in foreign matters beca...
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Brexit democracy
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Rolf Norfolk

The Struggle for Liberty

houses-of-parliament-4444870_1920 Royal Republic
As we approach the Coronation we can expect much malign and ill-informed comment from people who do not understand our political system. One reason for their ignorance will be the deplatforming of speakers who could put them right, such as the redoubtable David Starkey, shunned by the woke for their misrepresentation of an impatient and infelicitou...
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Monarchy democracy Brexit Opportunities Brexit
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Bruges Group Research

The Windsor Framework is dangerous

2474152_1920 A Divided Country
The delicate balance of the Good Friday Agreement should be protected  By Derrick Berthelsen Reprinted by permission of the Critic Magazine There are many reasons to vote against the Windsor Framework changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Several excellent articles have been published outlining why — in this and other periodicals — but tod...
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Independence Law democracy EU Laws NI Protocol
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Michael Wood

Where Have All the Tories Gone?

The-assassination-of-Julius-Caesar Democracy in Danger
Politicians should have a vision. George H. W. Bush's perceived lack of one probably cost him a second term. Atlee's vision of a British Socialist Commonwealth condemned the UK to a painful exodus from the privation of WW2. Its legacy hampered our development. The Reagan - Thatcher vision was a time of hope, a vision of a renewal for the world demo...
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New Start Blob Denigration of UK democracy Brexit Opportunities
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Michael Wood

Has Anyone the Courage to Lead?

stop-1001138_1920 Time for honesty and courage
Since the referendum governments have squandered opportunity. We should be in a strong position, but a combination of Pro EU Tories, the Blob and the Civil Service has put democracy at risk. The daily attacks on Brexit citing idiotic opinion polls, demonstrate a determination by the opponents of democracy to take us back into the EU whatever the co...
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Truth democracy Net Zero Coup EU
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Philip Vander Elst

PATRIOTISM AND FREEDOM A libertarian defence of national sovereignty

big-ben-2007165_1920 Freedom
Three quarters of a century ago, when Britain was fighting for her life and the freedom of Europe, no important body of opinion would have questioned the value of patriotism or the importance of preserving and cherishing our nationhood as a focus of resistance to Nazi totalitarianism. Pride in our heritage, our sense of connection with the past and...
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Nationhood democracy Liberty Freedom National Sovereignty
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Michael Wood

The End of The Road

signpost-5274077_1920 Our future destroyed?
For over a century the UK has struggled with political realism and to an extent, its identity. In 1918 the Labour Parties pamphlet 'Labour and the New Social Order' set out an essentially communist agenda. Beatrice and Sidney Webb's 1920 book ' Constitution For The Socialist Commonwealth Of Great Britain' fleshed it out. Many were taken in by talk ...
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OBR Taxes democracy Socialism Betrayal
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Michael Wood

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Democracy, It Tolls for Thee

death-5770668 The Grim Reaper
The short-lived Truss government came to power with a mandate to change Britain. She fought her campaign clearly stating her policy. She was lawfully elected according to the rules. Her policy was designed to produce growth. Cutting taxes was a part of the program. The respected US Tax Foundation in its 2020 report on UK tax wrote: "All things bein...
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Green Damage Speculators Blob democracy
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Michael Wood

Can the Turncoats Turn Back?

Janus-Building Janus Building Burns
The UK faces problems, problems that to a great degree are the fault of the political and financial establishment. There is no point in blaming every ill on Covid and Ukraine indeed it is only to the latter crisis that the establishment response has been sure footed. Otherwise, the failures are legion. Brexit has not been fully implemente...
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Renege on Promises Taxes Expert Mess democracy Turncoats
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Derek Bennett

CHANGING POLITICS

Vote Is Democracy Fair?
The great war time leader, Winston Churchill, once said: "democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried". he was seldom wrong in his political thinking, a sound working democracy ensures tyrants and despots do not have the chance to come to power. Sadly, through history and events today, there have been ...
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MP contempt for democracy Proportional Representation First Past the Post democracy
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Michael Wood

Democracy Under Threat

big-ben-450819_1920 Churchill Led the Fight to Preserve Democracy
Democracy is in serious trouble. Before Trump was sworn in, many Democrats took to the streets to protest. 'He is not my president' was their battle cry. The American people were presented with a choice between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. They had to elect one of them and the majority chose Trump. For democracy to function there must be loser ...
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OBR Blob Trump Consent democracy
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Dr Ted Malloch

Service Leadership

coin-5095417_1920 Queen of Democracy
 The best way to honor the queen would be to take up her form of leadership—as service. She was vivacious and regal up until her final passing. But the queen exuded something even more profound—a surety in the way she led. The entire world watched (an estimated 4.4 billion, making it the most viewed event in history) and wept over the recent l...
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Sevice leadership democracy Queen Elizabeth 11
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Michael Wood

‘Ordo Ab Chao' Do Tory MPs have the Courage?

chaos-485491_1920 Ordo Ab Chao.
Boris Johnson's fall is due to a combination of factors. The man who was London's Mayor for eight years seems to have forgotten the reason for that success. He chose able lieutenants to implement his policy. As Prime Minister he desperately needed them. Without them, everything from BREXIT to Tax Cuts stalled and it seemed increasingly that the gov...
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Mandate Courage democracy MPs Duty Suella Braverman
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Will Podmore

A festschrift for Anthony Coughlan: Essays on sovereignty and democracy, edited by Frank Keoghan, Ruan O’Donnell & Michael Quinn, hardback, 159 pages, ISBN 978-0-09955975-2-5, Iontas Press, 2018.

A-Coughlan A festschrift for Anthony Coughlan
Anthony Coughlan is known to most of us for his heroic work for the National Platform of Ireland, which campaigns for Ireland's independence from the EU. As Michael Quinn writes, "He has tirelessly campaigned against the centralising and unaccountable EU bureaucracy; articulating instead the alternative case for a Europe of independent and co-opera...
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democracy Eurozone EU Irexit
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Michael Wood

Morality and Respect for Democracy

carnival-g708d1b115_1920
Being ambushed on his birthday to listen to a small group singing 'Happy Birthday' and sip a glass of wine may have been foolish of the PM. It does not count as crime in rational people's book. 10 Downing Street is a huge office. The Police issued 126 fixed-penalty notices naming only three recipients. The other 123 were presumably issued to specia...
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partygate party Boris democracy conservative
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Dr Frank Millard

Is globalisation defunct?

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Is there a need for a rethink of the 21st century direction of travel of globalisation, the concept of a global village, 4IR, communitarianism and supranationalism, as conceived at the end of the previous century? Vulnerabilities of scale The devastating impact of the pandemic on economics, trade, logistics and the global supply chain, plus the imp...
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globalisation Trade China economy democracy
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