Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 58

This is a final chance to scrap HS2. What the north really needs is ‘HS3’ | Simon Jenkins

David Cameron’s vanity rail project should be ditched in the upcoming review. It’s commuter journeys that need investment

Britain’s great vanity project is hanging by a thread. Reports that the treasury secretary, Liz Truss, has made HS2 a candidate for the autumn’s public spending review have rung alarm bells across Whitehall. The railway was previously thought a done deal; but last month, ministers quietly postponed the HS2 company’s “authority to proceed” with construction contracts by six...

‘No-fault’ eviction of tenants must end. But beware unintended consequences | Simon Jenkins

The government is right to curtail landlords’ powers. But too much regulation could end up hurting the poorest

Theresa May’s government can get some things right. The curtailment of landlords’ power to evict tenants for no reason with only eight weeks’ notice has been rejected by Labour and Tory ministers for decades. Now the proposed abolition of “section 21” evictions should free landlords from being seen as heartless exploiters, and tenants as worthless transients, endlessly complaining.

Eur...

Julian Assange’s cyber-sins seem quaint in comparison to those of big tech | Simon Jenkins

Forces more dangerous to public liberty than WikiLeaks are intruding on our lives. We need proper protection

The eviction of Julian Assange from London’s Ecuadorian embassy is a strange irony. He saw himself as a warrior for truth across the boundless paradise of the web, where people could make their own rules. Now he finds himself badly in need of a secure border, a friendly judge and legal protections.

Related: Zuckerberg’s proposals to regulate Facebook are self-serving and cynical | Roger...

Brexit is delayed, so what needs to happen now? Our panel responds | Simon Jenkins and others

The EU has given Britain until 31 October to find a way out of the current crisis, after Theresa May met leaders in Brussels

Related: Brexit: May to address Commons after EU sets October deadline – live news

Related: This vital Brexit delay must not be wasted on Tory leadership squabbling | Polly Toynbee

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A Brexit compromise is in view. A customs union is the only solution | Simon Jenkins

The extremists are out of touch. With Labour support, Theresa May can deliver a smooth UK exit from the EU

The gates are sliding shut. The options are closing. The extremists are refusing to budge, and the centre cannot agree. The only god is time and she is ticking ever louder.

Within the next two days, Theresa May must manoeuvre herself a Commons majority behind a deal that will win another Brexit extension from the EU on Wednesday. That majority deal is now in full view – it would mean the U...

Prisons do damage. Is the British government finally waking up to this? | Simon Jenkins

We’ve been promised reform before. The scrapping of short sentences gives me hope that it may actually be happening

At least some MPs are doing their day job. This week the Commons justice committee demanded that all prison sentences of less than a year be scrapped, in a drastic measure apparently to slash the prison population in England and Wales, and because short sentences do not work. Assuming it does not just mean longer sentences, this is good news.

Jailing people is dumb because it trea...

It’s time for common sense on Brexit – a customs union must prevail | Simon Jenkins

The Westminster bubble must burst, and Theresa May will have to rely on cross-party agreement in any more EU talks

MPs can vote today to honour both the referendum and common sense. They can vote to leave the EU and stay in the European customs union. That they are faced with much the same range of options as last week is inexcusable. Why could they not get together over the weekend, and agree a soft Brexit compromise?

Now they must redeem themselves. The votes should be free and unwhipped. The...

Parliament may look chaotic. But it is inching towards a resolution | Simon Jenkins

It’s easy to criticise politicians for the Brexit mess, but with more indicative votes planned, a sensible outcome is in sight

The news may yet be good. There is a way ahead. If we can just keep our nerve for one last push on Monday, a sensible outcome to the Brexit saga is in sight. It is what it always has been: Brexit within a customs union. It is “leave” without lunacy. But first Theresa May is to make one last despairing attempt to get her twice-rejected “red lines” deal through the Commo...

Deciding how to end one’s life should be the ultimate human right | Simon Jenkins

The debate on assisted dying has been nudged towards common sense by the Royal College of Physicians’ vote

What is the principal cause of death in Britain? The answer is premeditated killing. And who are the killers? The answer is doctors. It’s said that over half of all deaths result from a specific medical decision, either to administer a knowingly lethal drug dose or to withdraw life-saving treatment. The better we get at keeping ourselves alive, the more cunning we must be in getting to di...

For all our sakes: Theresa May’s Brexit deal must be voted down | Simon Jenkins

The country will not get the sensible bipartisan Commons compromise it needs until May’s rigid plan is defeated

Theresa May must fail. Her first two attempts to get her Brexit deal through the Commons deserved support. They forestalled “crashing out” of the EU with no deal next month – and they took the referendum process forward.

She failed twice to persuade the Commons of this. As a result, last week her “least worst Brexit” strategy lost legitimacy. When the Commons voted to debate other opt...