Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 6

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...

Could we all be as positive as Chris Hoy facing death? Perhaps knowing when we will go changes everything | Simon Jenkins

As Hoy has said, there is agony in trying to predict the future. Medical advances mean we might be able to navigate an awful diagnosis with some certainty

We can all sympathise with Chris Hoy for his terminal cancer, and admire the manner in which he revealed it. Dignity so rarely goes with celebrity. We wish him well. But Hoy has two advantages over me. First, he cycles faster. Second, he knows how long he has to live. It is four years at the outside.

Hoy can therefore plan. He can draw up a fina...

Pylons rule and rural beauty is up for sale. Why do those in power so hate the countryside? | Simon Jenkins

Ed Miliband seems happy to see the landscape blighted. We value townscape – everywhere else has to fend for itself

Does Labour believe in beauty? The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, celebrated his arrival in office this summer by permitting three of the largest solar panel arrays in Britain. One, a Suffolk array covering nearly 2,800 acres, was described by a county councillor as “the poorest infrastructure application that I have ever dealt with”.

Now Miliband is demanding a procession of pylons f...

Starmer’s House of Lords reform only scratches the surface of its problems | Simon Jenkins

As the prime minister said himself in 2020, what it really requires is proper representation from the regions and nations. Where’s that conviction now?

Nothing reveals Britain’s aversion to change quite like its failure to reform the House of Lords. Since the turn of the 21st century, almost everyone in politics has agreed that this should take place. The Lords may be quaint and historic, but it is constitutionally indefensible. It is one of only two parliaments in the world, along with Lesotho, ...

Sudan's forgotten war is bloody and horrifying – but US bombs aren't the way to stop it | Simon Jenkins

The world must show it cares about the conflict, but relieving civilian suffering should take the place of military intervention

It is the most sickening league table on Earth. Which of the world’s three current major wars has resulted in the most deaths? On the latest figures, the Russia-Ukraine war has left more than 200,000 dead in two and a half years, overwhelmingly soldiers. The Hamas attack and ensuing Israeli assault on Gaza has registered 43,000 mostly civilian deaths, according to offic...