Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 51

This was the Queen’s speech – as written by Dominic Cummings | Simon Jenkins

Boris Johnson’s chief adviser may not be long in the ascendant, but he is clearly determined to make his mark

The Queen must be bored. “Her” speech today was a repeat of hers of two months ago, in which Boris Johnson pledged Brexit plus the moon to his new army of working-class voters in the regions. It worked, and now there will be Brexit. The hope must be that sanity can descend on this subject, and on what it means for Britain’s trading status with Europe and the world. Please let it be so....

The Lib Dems helped the Tories to victory again. Now they should disband | Simon Jenkins

The party’s only achievement was to split the vote. It should now merge with Labour and become a moderate influence

No, it was not just Jeremy Corbyn. Last week’s crushing defeat of the left was also caused by the Liberal Democrat party splitting the vote. Yet again, by offering itself as the vote launderer of British liberalism, it has served as merely the fellow traveller of British Conservatism. Boris Johnson owes it a huge debt of gratitude.

Misreading election results – largely so as to...

London’s Victorian churches deserve a second gothic revival

Many of the fine monuments to London’s golden age lie undervalued and underused. It’s time these brick and stone glories were brought back to life

They are London’s lost cathedrals. A few people still worship in them, a few more know of them, but few visit them. Whenever I have dropped by, they have been locked and seem deserted. Yet inside, these are masterpiece monuments of London’s age of confidence and flair, that of high Victorian gothic. They must be revived.

Related: Five new London...

There is hope: Boris Johnson’s big majority could unleash the social liberal within | Simon Jenkins

Everything is now in Johnson’s hands: and that includes opting for a softer Brexit, and dialling back his rightwing rhetoric

• Latest election news – live updates

Now what? Boris Johnson’s bonus for a stunning election victory is room for manoeuvre. He promised to “get Brexit done” and the UK will surely leave the EU in January. But he was careful not to say how. He only said that he would also leave Europe’s single market and customs union, a choice for which he will now claim a mandate. A...

We can’t rely on shops to revive our town centres. They need a new magnet | Simon Jenkins

High street shops cannot survive the death blow of online retail. But there are ways to make town centres come alive again

Another winter passes, and the plague continues its rampage through the high streets of Britain. Shutters are going up and stores are closing. The disease fells everything from the corner post office and pub to mighty names like M&S, Debenhams and House of Fraser. Like the climate crisis and the erosion of the countryside, the traumas of urban geography pass unnoticed...

‘Get Brexit done’ is this election’s biggest lie | Simon Jenkins

Leaving the EU will be only the start of a long and tortuous process. For Johnson to claim anything else is pure fantasy

Vote Tory to “get Brexit done’’ says an increasingly manic Boris Johnson. Yes, a Tory victory at this week’s election would confirm the UK’s departure from the councils of the EU. But it would not “get Brexit done”. Far from it. It would clarify almost nothing. That is the big lie of this election.

Everyone knows that Britain simply cannot leave the EU without a trade deal...

Trade sanctions are Trump’s weapon of choice in a dangerous new world conflict | Simon Jenkins

If war’s purpose is to devastate territory and put people under duress, it can now be waged from offices around the world

Is this the new war? After hot war and cold war comes trade war, Trump-style. The latest battle seems to merely pit scotch against bourbon and camembert against Google, but the US’s argument with the outside world is escalating, and it is no joke.

Donald Trump came to power with a somewhat admirable aversion to overseas military intervention (while maintaining willingness to...

This election will be all about identity, not money. And the Tories know it | Simon Jenkins

Labour’s pledge to boost spending may not win it the votes it wants. In this election, other things are more important

Why would anyone not vote Labour? If person A knocks on your door and offers you 1,000, no questions asked, and person B offers 100, why refuse A? The question has long puzzled experts. Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has pledged a great deal more in public spending than the (relatively) parsimonious Tories. Yet the Tories are running at 11 points ahead in the polls and appear within...

Stairways to heaven: England's top 10 cathedrals

Attendance at cathedral services is up 14% in a decade. But which are the country’s best?

England’s cathedrals are booming, even as parish churches are in decline. Attendance at Church of England cathedral services is up 14% in a decade and that does not include tourist visits. No one quite knows why. It appears to be a combination of music – especially evensong – fine art, architecture and coffee. In the language of the age, the cathedral offers an experience without a commitment. So which...

Stairways to heaven: Britain's top 10 cathedrals

Attendance at cathedral services are up 14% in a decade. But which are the country’s best?

Britain’s cathedrals are booming, even as parish churches are in decline. Attendance at cathedral services is up 14% in a decade and that does not include tourist visits. No one quite knows why. It appears to be a combination of music – especially evensong – fine art, architecture and coffee. In the language of the age, the cathedral offers an experience without a commitment. So which are the finest?

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