Section: CapX (The United Kingdom)
How Britain won over the EU on Russia
Britain’s advantage over Russia swung on a dinner. Before European leaders gathered to eat on Thursday, the European Union (EU) was supportive of the UK’s case over the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal but, France and Germany apart, unconvinced that Moscow should be publicly blamed. “We need to investigate,” pleaded the Greek...
The UK’s wins and losses in the Brexit transition deal
On Monday, Britain and the EU announced a lot of progress on the terms of the British exit from the European Union, specifically when it comes to the so-called “transition stage” which will last until January 1st 2021, and during which Britain will take over EU rules in order to keep access to the EU single market. Here’s an overview of...
The UK should accept that it is in a new Cold War with Russia
It’s becoming likely that the Russian state has been involved in another killing in Britain. Regardless of the detail, Russia has malign intent to this country. We should respond in three ways; accept, understand and act. First, we need to accept that we are in a new cold war, with the Russian Federation. This is not a pleasant fact. We may...
Britain must stand up to Russia’s destabilising lies
An attack using a nerve agent in a British city is worse than an unspeakable crime. Amid domestic political disasters, the prime minister got the tone right in her statement to the House of Commons yesterday. It was a direct attack by Russia against this country using a powerful agent that is not known to have been deployed previously and is hard...
Talking to North Korea is a risk worth taking
History is sometimes made in sudden, unexpected bursts. Upon his return to Seoul from his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s national security advisor, Chung Eui-Yong, announced on March 6, that South Korea’s President Moon Jae In and Kim Jong Un would hold a summit by the end of April. Just 48 hours later at...
How should Britain respond to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal?
It seems to have happened again. While Downing Street has stressed that this is still an ongoing investigation, it’s increasingly clear that the government believes a former Russian spy living in the UK has been poisoned in a Russian state-sponsored attack. And it’s not hard to see why. The incident involving Sergei Skripal and his...
Europe is still living with the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty
The EU doesn’t usually shy away from landmark celebrations. But one notable date passed almost unnoticed in Brussels this week as the ten-year anniversary of the signing of the Lisbon Treaty came and went. No official ceremony was held. No pro-EU gushing from the most reliable of EU federalists. Not even any faint murmurs of nostalgia for...
Britain needs to wake up to the Russian threat
It’s hard to avoid mention of Donald Trump and Russia in British political circles these days. And the combined threat they pose. Liberal democracies have come late to an understanding of the threat Russia’s hybrid warfare pose. The threat has been super-charged by an investigation into Trump’s collusion with Russia, which could...
There’s nothing green about socialism
Earlier this month, I wrote about the determined efforts of socialists on both sides of the Atlantic to conflate capitalism with racism. No doubt, some promoters of capitalism were racists. But that is hardly surprising, since racism, along with slavery and wanton cruelty, were universal and, until recently, eternal phenomena. The truth is, no...
Alex Salmond: a portrait of degradation
Russia Today, which this week showcased its newest acquisition, a talk show hosted by Alex Salmond, is the most accomplished English language propaganda channel in the world. Other global news services – BBC World, the German Deutsche Welle, the EU’s Euronews, France 24, the US’ CNN – try to adhere, to a “fair, balanced and impartial”...
