Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 149

In village politics, as elsewhere, what matters is not agreement but conflict | Simon Jenkins

The debate is raw, people participate and outcomes matter. Even if localism fans a fierce rural social protectionism, I like it

Sometimes I need a philosopher. I recently attended a community meeting for a group of Cumbrian villages outside Penrith. They were preparing uncertainly to pilot the government's new "localism agenda", and I wondered what they wanted from it. The cry was unanimous: they wanted protection from market forces. Above all, they wanted the right to social housing for...

Fifa is no 'world governing body', simply a squalid cartel | Simon Jenkins

Sepp Blatter may run an upmarket Sopranos, but he won't be held to account by our craven authorities any time soon

Sepp Blatter should not stand as president of Fifa at Wednesday's meeting in Zurich, let alone be re-elected. But he will stand and be re-elected. Only those blind to the greed and hysteria of world football could regard awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar as definitely clean. Blatter knew this, because he was told it over and again. But Fifa is not, as it classes itself, a...

Bravo for nimbyism. What else will keep us from turbines and pylons? | Simon Jenkins

Too much faith – and subsidy – is ploughed into wind power when there are alternatives to butchering Britain

We know all about life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness, but what of beauty? This week hundreds of marchers have converged on Cardiff from the west Midlands and mid-Wales in a desperate bid to halt what, on any showing, is an aesthetic travesty. By what right?

The protested plan, which has seen the Welsh marches in uproar for six months, is to erect 800 more wind turbines ...

Obama and Cameron must break this addiction to war | Simon Jenkins

Both Britain and America are fuelling Muslim anger by failing to rein in an aggressive military interventionist strategy

It's the war, stupid. At the time of his election in 2009, everything about Barack Obama endeared him to British opinion. Events since have honoured that enthusiasm, with the president retaining an approval rating in the region of 70%. Obama is admired for his vigorous steps to fend off recession. He is admired for confronting the health industry lobbyists. He speaks the...

Trial by media ordeal has become our politicians' rite of passage | Simon Jenkins

Forget reasoned debate. Ken Clarke follows Huhne, Laws and Cable as the latest star of the hot coals roadshow

It is the oldest trick in the book. You snatch a politician's mildly controversial remark. You eradicate context and qualification and invite rent-a-quote to be subject of the verb "to slam" or object of the verb "to infuriate". You then get the leader of the opposition to demand a sacking, and stake out the victim's house to see how he takes it.

Ken Clarke's spot of bother over rape...

In Libya, Britain has slid into every interventionist fallacy | Simon Jenkins

As the RAF roams Tripoli seeking Gaddafi homes to attack, the pretence of protecting civilians is exposed each night

That should bring him to his knees. The international criminal court in The Hague wants to arrest Colonel Gaddafi for "crimes against humanity". He and his sons allegedly "ordered the use of live ammunition and heavy weapons" against peaceful demonstrators. If these are crimes against humanity, the court is clearly looking for work. It even says the case against Gaddafi is so...

David Cameron's smooth image is not all caricature - he has a right to be cocky | Simon Jenkins

Over the past year Cameron has emerged as a leader of real ability with a talent for luck. Libya aside, it can't get much better

If I were David Cameron I would stop now. It cannot get much better. The polls are up. The Telegraph and the Mail love him. He seems immune to bad news on the economy. At the end of his first year of office he has emerged as an adept political operator with a talent for luck. For all the dud trees in his coalition – two more sprouted this week on police and...

It is time for England's first empire to get independence | Simon Jenkins

In a fit of Anglo-Saxon machismo, Cameron has vowed to fight Scottish self-rule 'with every fibre I have'. But why?

Last week David Cameron reacted to the election of the first Scots nationalist majority government by saying he would "campaign to keep our United Kingdom together with every single fibre I have". Dare we ask why? Cameron has no political interest in Scotland, where the Tories have had just one MP in 20 years. He would have a strong Tory majority at Westminster were it not for...

Osama bin Laden is dead – but not al-Qaida or its cause | Simon Jenkins

Ten years of 'war on terror' have devastated Afghanistan. All its people want is peace. Will they get it at last?

We shed no tears for Osama bin Laden. The most outrageous act of terrorism in modern times has led to the most gigantic manhunt and most costly tit-for-tat war. America's joy, as much of relief as of delight, is understandable. But the thesis must now be put to the test, whether an idea is more potent when its creator has died for it than when he was alive. Killing Bin Laden...

This royal wedding cannot bear the weight of meaning that's being heaped on it | Simon Jenkins

Dress, hair, coach and cake will tell us nothing about monarchy, class or modern Britain. Just relax and enjoy the fun

Relax. It is not important. The dress is not important. The bouquet is not important. Whether the hair is up or down is not important. The guest list is fine but for some silly hitches. The royal wedding tells us nothing about the state of the monarchy, the fate of the government, the class system, or the habits and morals of the young. Its global fascination lies in its...