Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 70

Obesity is a greater threat for millennials than cannabis. It’s absurd | Simon Jenkins

Millennials look set to be the fattest generation of Britons ever, yet the government continues to dodge the issue

Seven out of 10 millennials are now expected to be “overweight or obese” by their late 30s – compared with an already alarming half of baby-boomers. The well-documented burden on the NHS from type 2 diabetes alone will be crippling. Already only Iceland and Malta are fatter in western Europe. It is therefore a legitimate concern of the state. Yet the state is dodging the issue. Th...

Wine and dine democracy is now on trial – and about time | Simon Jenkins

The Westminster affair shows the potential power of the lobbying industry. Oversight is crucial for all

Each time a US gunman goes berserk, the British media erupts in fury at the money the gun lobby can devote to its lethal interest. To be sure, big time lobbying is the occupational disease of American politics. In the US, it can have murderous consequences. Still, on matters of principle, Britons would do well to watch their hypocrisy.

The sums spent by property companies on lobbying Westmins...

Student finance is broken. A graduate tax is the only solution | Simon Jenkins

Theresa May is right to criticise current tuition fees. The whole system needs overhauling

Britain’s student loan scheme is the worst public-sector project in modern history. It has put the nation’s graduates £100bn in the red, currently predicted to rise to £330bn by 2044, of which three-quarters will not be repaid. The rest is dumped on the taxpayer. This cannot go on. Extravagant, distorting and unfair, the existing loans system was transformed by Tony Blair’s introduction of tuition fees i...

Prize our public services, but don’t make privatisation a dirty word | Simon Jenkins

For all the concern about PFI, the truth is that we will always need a mix of state and market

What do Oxfam, Carillion and the East Coast mainline have in common? The answer is that we all own them, or we run them, or at least we pay for them to be run. They are agents of government, subcontractors, proxy servants of the state. The government has responsibility for the money they spend and picks up the pieces when they fail. They form a grey, soggy, unaccountable no man’s land somewhere betwe...

Diesel is dying – let steam trains ride to the rescue | Simon Jenkins

The new rail minister wants to phase out diesel, and his predecessor hobbled electricity. That leaves one viable option

New ministers always go a little mad in the early days of the job. The new railways boss, Jo Johnson, will make a speech proposing to “phase out” all British diesel engines by 2040. He calls it an “aspiration”.

But diesel accounts for a third of all Britain’s trains. The only alternative form of traction is electricity, and Johnson’s ministerial predecessor postponed or abando...

We can leave the EU, but not Europe. Isolation is no longer splendid | Simon Jenkins

History cries out for Britain not to abandon free trade. Once this led to colonies – now the European single market is the only option

Give history a vote, I say. In politics the past is always wiser than the present, but no one speaks up for it. Sometimes we need it badly, like now. Britain’s exit from the EU echoes centuries of aversion to continental involvement. At issue is not leaving the EU, which we will do, but how – whether it makes sense to abandon half a century of partnership with...

A special tax to save the struggling NHS won’t work. Here’s why | Simon Jenkins

This idea distracts from what’s needed: a bipartisan royal commission to stop NHS money being wasted, then reform

A special NHS tax is a bad idea. The concept as put forward today by a group of health professionals is naive. First, it will not happen and is thus a distraction from getting more money for health. Second, if it were introduced, every good cause would want its own tax: housing, schools, student fees and the army. The Treasury would just slash existing spending on them.

That 10 seni...

The brave Brexit speech Theresa May is afraid to give? Here it is | Simon Jenkins

The Norway option, a customs union, a united front with Labour – this is the endgame she must risk her job to win

For fear of upsetting her cabinet, Theresa May has abandoned a major speech planned for next week that would have set out her intentions for the Brexit endgame. That is a risk she must take. Here is the speech she should be giving.

“I want to clearly set out where we stand on Brexit. Uncertainty has gone on too long. Businesses are desperate for guidance, and the country for leaders...

The Carillion pension bungle raises this question: where was the oversight? | Simon Jenkins

There’s something amiss when a firm £5bn in debt, owing almost £1bn to its pensioners, and with just £29m in the bank is given a clean bill of health

The stain of Carillion continues to spread – and smell. As desperate efforts are made to salvage the contracts and jobs of the bankrupt firm, the focus now turns on its pensioners, and on the “defined-benefits” schemes under the company’s umbrella. They cover 28,000 past and present workers.

Last year the directors, with the agreement of the pensi...

Boris Johnson’s Trump act struggles on the UK stage | Simon Jenkins

Appealing to voters over the head of his party on issues such as the NHS is a risky strategy that may cost him in the long run

As Theresa May gazes across the Alps at Donald Trump, she might do a double take, having just left behind her very own Trump for slow learners, Boris Johnson. On Tuesday she endured another display of Boris the Authentic. He played the NHS as part of playing Brexit, screwing the system and jumping off the cliff.

Don’t say this sort of thing doesn’t work. Donald is in t...