So: what will you do, I ask my father, if word gets around that you’re building your Utopia and others want to join? How he will stop Non-Utopians from coming to his island and spoiling it before they even start the experiment. Remember what happened to Haiti and Tahiti!My father agrees that it might be an idea to have walls. What about cannons I ask, and he says no, because … [Read more...] about Defending utopia from outsiders, dissidents and saboteurs?
refugee crisis
Home Office ‘target culture’ from Blair to May
The recent scandal over removals targets has focused attention on the so-called ‘target culture’ that is rife in the Home Office.In fact, the organization has been driven by targets since the early years of the Blair administration. A series of ambitious ‘stretch’ targets were rolled out as part of the system of Public Service Agreements as early as 2000.Initially, the … [Read more...] about Home Office ‘target culture’ from Blair to May
Stains on our democracy
Amber Rudd’s resignation as Home Secretary – and her replacement by ex-communities secretary Sajid Javid – highlights not just a UK department in chaos but Britain’s cruelly confused attitude to immigrants and refugees wherever they come from.Rudd was supposedly “humane”; Javid is a second-generation Muslim immigrant (and ex-banker). But both are cast in the same … [Read more...] about Stains on our democracy
Talking Turkeys: five poems for Christmas 2016
We closed the borders folks, we nailed it No trees, no plants, no immigrants Jackie KayFor west-centric liberals, 2016 has been the worst of all years. That’s such a constant refrain there’s now an echoing response on Twitter, ‘Stop blaming it on 2016’ is petulant and unimaginative in its repetition. Yet absolutely spot on. This was the year the developed world woke up … [Read more...] about Talking Turkeys: five poems for Christmas 2016
Divided nation – Germany’s refugee crisis
Sunday afternoon in Germany - the usual time when Germans sit down for coffee and cake. In my mother's house the table is neatly set, complete with an ornately decorated cream tart. At four o' clock on the dot the doorbell rings and family arrives.The conversation flows easily until we reach the topic everyone talks about, at least here in Germany: the huge influx of … [Read more...] about Divided nation – Germany’s refugee crisis