Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 5

The west’s reckless escalation of the war in Ukraine will cause more suffering, for no strategic gain | Simon Jenkins

Putin is an isolated dictator, devoid of scruple. Firing missiles into Russia will only lead to more hardship for the people of Ukraine

This is how big wars start, when small ones go wrong. Nato politicians are deliberately playing with fire along the Ukrainian frontier, as UK-made missiles have been launched into Russia for the first time since the beginning of the conflict. The attack came a day after Kyiv used US-supplied long-range weapons to strike within Russia. Every military comment on Br...

Construction is the world’s biggest polluter, yet Labour still refuses to tackle it | Simon Jenkins

Refurbishing an old building is subject to full VAT, but it isn’t if you build a polluting new one. The government’s priorities are all wrong

You can damn oil companies, abuse cars, insult nimbys, kill cows, befoul art galleries. But you must never, ever criticise the worst offender of all. The construction industry is sacred to both the left and the right. It may be the world’s greatest polluter, but it is not to be criticised. It is the elephant in the global-heating room.

It’s hard not to feel ...

What should Biden do with his remaining time? Get a peace deal done in Ukraine | Simon Jenkins

The end to this bloody stalemate must come with negotiation, and Putin should not wait until Trump is in the White House

First the good news. The US is talking to Russia. Then the bad. Vladimir Putin has been phoned not by the current US president, but by a known admirer and sceptic of the US’s support for Ukraine, the president-elect, Donald Trump. Could these two facts offer a path to peace?

Two years ago, Putin made a terrible mistake. He thought he could invade Ukraine and topple its leader, V...

Yes, Trump is awful. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s a chance for progressives to reflect on what they got wrong | Simon Jenkins

The president-elect benefited from working-class hostility to a remote elite. Liberals need to reargue their case

Yes, we all know it looks terrible. We have heard what Donald Trump has promised. But could there be silver linings to these ominous clouds? The election was two days ago. Tomorrow is another day, and this strange, faulty, thin-skinned but tough-as-nails character is notable for one thing: unpredictability.

The essence of Trump is that he is not a politician but an egotistical wheeler-...

Yes, Trump is terrible. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s a chance for progressives to reflect on what they got wrong | Simon Jenkins

The president-elect benefited from working-class hostility to a remote elite. Liberals need to reargue their case

Yes, we all know it looks terrible. We have heard what Donald Trump has promised. But could there be silver linings to these ominous clouds? The election was two days ago. Tomorrow is another day, and this strange, faulty, thin-skinned but tough-as-nails character is notable for one thing: unpredictability.

The essence of Trump is that he is not a politician but an egotistical wheeler-...

What to do after Grenfell? Stop building these family-unfriendly tower blocks for a start | Simon Jenkins

Remedial action to make the cladding on buildings safer could take 20 years. In the meantime, we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past

The Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 was a tragedy. Preventing its repetition is a fiasco. The latest National Audit Office (NAO) report suggests that 60% of similar towers have yet to be identified, leading to a total cladding removal cost that could reach a staggering £22.4bn.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s best estimate is that the...

A huge, hideous Canary Wharf by Regent's Park: this could be the result of Labour’s plan for HS2 | Simon Jenkins

Where will Rachel Reeves find billions for a tunnel from Old Oak Common to Euston? Private development is one answer

The face said it all. As Rachel Reeves listed the infrastructure projects being funded by her first budget, she could not even say how much the biggest one would cost. She announced a £22.6bn cash injection for the NHS in England over two years and an extra £2.3bn a year in core funding for English schools. Television showed the relevant ministers cheering to the skies. But when sh...

It’s easy for the British to insult Donald Trump – but here’s why it’s a very bad idea | Simon Jenkins

A majority of Britons may want Kamala Harris to win the US election, but antagonising a powerful potential ally is unwise

Is it wise for Britons to heap abuse on Donald Trump? At present he is the marginal favourite to win next week’s US presidential election – with Britons strongly behind his opponent Kamala Harris. But is overt hostility sensible?

Most recent polls show two out of three Britons want Harris to win, including a majority even of Conservatives. The Labour party sent about 100 activi...

The ransacking of Britain: why the people finally rose up against ‘sod you architecture’

Inspired by Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, who believed streets fostered disease, a vision of Britain was cooked up that would see historic city centres flattened for flats and ring roads. But the public decided they’d had enough – and took to the streets

The interview did not go well. I was in Liverpool as a journalist being shown a model for the city’s future by its proud architect, Graeme Shankland. I told him I regarded his city as the most magnificent port in Europe. He corrected me and ...

Parish churches have lost another 20% of worshippers in four years and fallen behind mosques. They are in panic mode | Simon Jenkins

Too many beautiful church buildings are going to ruin. Councils could run them better. Let them

The Church of England is in a state of “panic and fear”, of “deep anxiety”, and should stop being obsessed with numbers and face the reality of decline. So says one of its bishops, Guli Francis-Dehqani, of Chelmsford. It’s not hard to see why. Two years ago, as weekly worshippers re-emerged after Covid, church statisticians were desperate to see if they would return at least to their 2019 numbers, when...