Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 28

The answer to the Parthenon marbles dispute: George Osborne and a 3D printer | Simon Jenkins

If the British Museum chairman is serious about returning the treasures to Greece, making copies offers a face-saving solution

The British Museum chairman, George Osborne, has mooted the possible return of the Parthenon (or Elgin) marbles to Greece. This is thoroughly good news. He is not the first to suggest a “marbles deal”, but he is the first to suggest that “seeing them in their splendour in Athens” is a virtue to be sought. More importantly, he seems to accept that this has passed on from t...

Get ready for King Charles, the monarch who speaks his mind | Simon Jenkins

He has described as ‘appalling’ the Tories’ plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Don’t expect him to change

The government’s decision to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda faces more serious opposition than from the Prince of Wales. It has come from international lawyers, Amnesty International, civil service unions, the weight of liberal opinion and now the court of appeal. Even so, for the prince to reportedly declare the prime minister’s policy on migration to be “appalling” is unusual. Is it...

The west’s calls for a total victory in Ukraine can lead only to ruinous escalation | Simon Jenkins

Whatever settlement is reached to end the war, it will be a compromise, no matter the talk of unwavering support

As war in Ukraine drifts out of the headlines, it reaches a point of maximum danger. Can the parties be led towards compromise and settlement, or will their desperation, coupled with war fever by nonparticipants, drive the conflict into wider escalation and risk of catastrophe?

The British government has offered Kyiv what it calls unwavering support. Boris Johnson has thus delegated his...

The storm clouds of Brexit and Covid have moved on – but Britain just isn’t working any more | Simon Jenkins

From childcare to the courts, public service failures are causing chaos. Recent crises have taken their toll, but so have botched privatisations

Tried getting through to a GP’s surgery lately? Or a bank? Or the customer services of almost anything? Catching a flight? Good luck. Waiting for a train? Stay calm, fingers crossed. Patience is a virtue – and, right now, an absolute necessity.

The government is passing through a vale of tears, and for once it is not entirely the fault of the prime minist...

The EU should forget about sanctions – they’re doing more harm than good | Simon Jenkins

Far from compelling Russia to exit Ukraine, they are causing great suffering worldwide as food and energy prices soar

Six million households in Britain face the possibility of morning and evening blackouts this winter to maintain sanctions against Russia, as do consumers across Europe. This is despite Europe pouring about $1bn a day into Russia to pay for the gas and oil it continues to consume. This seems crazy. Proposals by the EU to halt the payments are understandably being opposed by countri...

Britain’s Kafkaesque boycott of Russian culture plays straight into Putin’s hands | Simon Jenkins

Banning sports stars and musicians perfectly fits the Kremlin’s narrative that the war in Ukraine is one of national survival

Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian tennis players, including world No 2 Daniil Medvedev, is Russophobia gone mad. It implies that Britain regards all Russians as colluders in the actions of the Russian state and in Vladimir Putin’s outrages in Ukraine. This follows several European countries halting visas for Russians. The west appears so in thrall to Putin that it is aba...

Forget a gimmicky windfall tax. Energy companies should be forced to slash bills instead | Simon Jenkins

Who knows where that extra tax revenue would end up? There is a better way to help people struggling with the cost of living

When all politicians agree on something, it is probably a bad idea. A windfall tax on energy companies is currently in populist vogue and is superficially plausible. Thanks partly to reckless sanctions policies against Russia, British energy users have seen their bills rocket by 70% in the past year, with further hikes promised in October when the official price cap on a bi...

The clouds of Partygate may part for Johnson, but there will be another one along soon | Simon Jenkins

He stumbles from one fine mess to another. It is hard to know when there was worse custodianship of national affairs

Another triumph for Boris Johnson’s Houdini act. Partygate appears over with today’s announcement that the Metropolitan police has closed the file on Downing Street parties, with 126 penalty notices and reportedly no more for the prime minister. Rumours are that Sue Gray’s separate report on the parties will be published next week, but it is hard to see what it is likely to add, or...

Boris Johnson created this Brexit mess in Northern Ireland – and he should own it | Simon Jenkins

The prime minister lacks the authority to fix the problems his protocol has caused. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland suffers

Two of Boris Johnson’s most reckless chickens are coming home to roost. To get hard Brexit into law and topple his predecessor, Theresa May, he told Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party that he would allow no border in the Irish Sea. He promptly allowed one, and signed a protocol to the Brexit deal to that effect. An enraged DUP is duly refusing to let the new Northern I...

Michael Gove is right about one thing: building more homes won’t solve anything | Simon Jenkins

The UK has enough housing to go around – the problem is that the market is inefficient

Boris Johnson’s Queen’s speech was largely empty of substance. So thank goodness for the housing and planning secretary, Michael Gove. In his contribution he never spoke truer words, at least if anyone understood them. He has dismissed housing targets as “Procrustean … arbitrary … perfect arithmetic”.

In plain terms, what Gove meant was that Johnson’s mantra of “build, build, build” (a parroting of his chief pa...