Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 14

Return the Parthenon marbles. The British Museum has too much stuff anyway | Simon Jenkins

These relics from the fountainhead of European culture don’t belong in a cold, grey Bloomsbury chamber

The Parthenon marbles row is beyond silly. Rishi Sunak screeches “Mine, mine” like a child in a playground. He refuses a cup of tea with the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The leader of the opposition laughs. The nation yawns – polls show over half are happy to see the marbles returned and just above 20% want them to stay. Any civilised Briton knows they should be displayed where the...

Prepare for this general election to be the most toxic ever, thanks to Farage and Reform UK | Simon Jenkins

Immigration is not a top issue, yet both the Tories and Labour are focused on it – and the insurgent party is ready to capitalise

Next year’s general election in Britain could be the most toxic in decades. Two things, Reform UK and immigration, seem certain to plague debate on the political right. The latest polls show the Tories on 21% and Reform up from 2% in 2019 to 10% now. Immigration is not the biggest electoral issue for voters, ranking behind the economy and health, but it is totemic for ...

Argentinian firebrand Javier Milei is right about one thing: British sovereignty of the Falklands must end | Simon Jenkins

The Conservatives’ stubborn stance on the islands’ future is merely a refusal to let go of our last spark of military glory

The Falkland Islands are the Parthenon marbles of Britain’s diplomacy. They bring out the silliest antics in what passes for its “role on the world stage”.

The election of a new populist leader in Argentina made the reopening of the Falklands issue a near certainty, and so it has proved. The bizarre figure of Javier Milei may not be on the world stage for long, but he did pa...

Napoleon and The Crown are travesties: there is no ‘artistic licence’ to distort history | Simon Jenkins

In a sick world, it is dangerous for film-makers to fabricate and embellish in the name of entertainment

We’ve made a great movie. It’s called January 2021 and it shows how Donald Trump really was cheated out of the White House and Joe Biden really did tamper with the Georgia ballot boxes. In one amazing scene you see it was Mike Pence who encouraged the march on the Capitol to discredit Trump. The pope then tells Trump he won. We got the guys from The Crown to make it and it’s really moving.

Don’...

Every week brings a fresh HS2 scandal. It’s time to shut it down – all of it | Simon Jenkins

In an astonishing white paper, Rishi Sunak rips into the project he once lavishly funded. But he doesn’t go far enough

The most astonishing government document I have ever read sits on my desk. It is called Network North: Transforming British Transport and it purports to explain why Rishi Sunak cancelled half the HS2 project last month. In fact, it does not explain anything. It is an angry rant, tearing the entire HS2 project to bits: ridiculing, smashing and intellectually humiliating it.

The whi...

When the solution to your problem is David Cameron, you know you’re in deep trouble | Simon Jenkins

The former PM is back in the cabinet after Suella Braverman’s sacking. It goes to show how few options Rishi Sunak has left

Good riddance. Suella Braverman should never have been home secretary. She was appointed by Liz Truss and then Rishi Sunak for two bad reasons. One was in return for her support in their leadership campaigns. The other was to have a rightwing voice in the cabinet. Braverman has been sacked not for pressuring a senior police chief to cancel a protest. She has gone for infuria...

The real reason Sunak and Braverman have criticised Mark Rowley? To boost their profiles | Simon Jenkins

In their different ways, the prime minister and the home secretary clearly just wanted to be seen to be acting tough

How to police a London demonstration should not be a political decision, whether for the prime minister, the home secretary or even an elected mayor. It is a decision for the police commissioner. The rally and march in London on Saturday is to protest against the stance of the government and the opposition on the Israel-Hamas war and to call for a ceasefire.

Staging it on the weeken...

We cannot turn away from suffering, but I can no longer watch the news coverage from Israel and Gaza | Simon Jenkins

Right now we have tabloid television, not broadcast news, offering a ghoulish voyeurism and simplified spectacle

For the first time in my adult life I cannot watch – or read – the news. Its presentation makes me profoundly upset. For over a week I have not read, heard or watched the news from Israel/Palestine. I am afraid doing this has made me feel better. I have asked around and many other people are doing the same.

I would normally consider it shocking to not know what is going on elsewhere in ...

This pantomime in Paddington is no way to right the wrongs of the Covid pandemic | Simon Jenkins

The search for blame rather than truth at the inquiry is fuelling a theatre of humiliation

The story of the Covid inquiry is becoming clear. The plot has a useless clown called Boris Johnson who gains access to Downing Street with his chums, ignores scientists and lets thousands die. A foul-mouthed mob of beta-politicians and officials fight tooth and nail against a star villain, Dominic Cummings. There is a background chorus of a delighted media and weeping victims. It is all yours for three ye...

There is a route out of this Israel-Gaza hell – an intermediary will be crucial to plot it out | Simon Jenkins

No one should be squeamish about a state such as Qatar acting as a broker and bringing Hamas to the table

The BBC reporter was aggressive. How could Qatar possibly play host to representatives of Hamas during the present Israel/Gaza conflict? The Qatari official patiently explained that his country had long acted as an intermediary. It organised prisoner swaps, humanitarian aid and peace initiatives. It negotiated the recent Israeli and US hostage returns. It had mediated conflicts in Afghanistan...