democracy GE2024 · 450 words · Viewed ~257 times
In an ideal world, people wouldn't drop litter. There would be plentiful bins and people would be responsible with their rubbish. In a slightly less ideal world, the local council would have enough money to clean up the mess left by people. But we don't live in an ideal world. People are ignorant and selfish. Councils are cash-strapped. So, once in a while, I'll go litter picking. I strap on a…
Continue reading →FoI GE2024 politics tax · 5 comments · 500 words · Viewed ~237 times
Freedom of Information law is brilliant! It allows ordinary people to ask questions of the powerful and get solid answers. Sometimes these questions are sensible and journalistic. Sometimes they're vexatious. Sometimes they're a little silly. The silly ones can be fun to answer. It's a good chance for a politician to show their human side. It's pretty hard to get wrong. I mean, unless the…
Continue reading →GE2024 general election politics · 3 comments · 500 words
The UK has some tough advertising regulations. There are restrictions placed on gambling adverts, alcohol, tobacco, and all sorts of other products. But there are no regulations on political advertising. There are dozens of smaller parties contesting the UK's General Election. Some are single issue parties, some are independents, some parties contest multiple seats, some contest only one. …
Continue reading →GE2024 politics retropost · 4 comments · 300 words · Viewed ~599 times
This is a retropost. Written in January 2023 but published long after I left the Civil Service. One of the weird things about working in Westminster is how terrifyingly normal it becomes to work in grand old buildings, stuffed with grand old artworks, and staffed with grand old politicians. You turn a corner and there's a bit of Henry VIII's tennis court. There's a Tracy Emin hanging on the…
Continue reading →election GE2024 politics retropost · 4 comments · 400 words · Viewed ~286 times
This is a retropost. Written contemporaneously in May 2020 during the height of the pandemic, but published long after the events. The day the EU referendum was announced, the then Prime Minister came to visit our office. We were given a chance to talk to him in front of TV cameras. This was my chance. I could ask a question - the perfect question - which would win the referendum and bring down …
Continue reading →election GE2024 politics retropost · 5 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~404 times
This is a retropost. Written contemporaneously, but published long after the events. At the time, I was a Civil Servant in Cabinet Office. Now I am not. But as we're heading for another General Election, I thought I'd share this post. It's the evening of the 2019 General Election. I am plagued by two thoughts. Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect works as follows. You open the…
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