Entries by Tobias Langdon

We Hate Ukip: Turning Britain into a Roche Motel

You can trust someone who always tells the truth. But you can also trust someone who always lies. Mainstream British politics falls into the latter category. We have a Conservative party that hates tradition, a Labour party that hates the working class and a Liberal Democrat party that hates democracy. You can trust these three […]

Whole Lotta Lutfur: Ethnocracy vs Democracy in Brave New Britain

Britain needs a new national anthem. I suggest Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Just look at the vibrancy here, for example: An investigation is not Islamophobia Lutfur Rahman is Britain’s first directly elected [West] Asian mayor. On 22 May [2014], he seeks re-election. He says he aspires to the highest standards of […]

Pak Attack: Human Rights with a Vibrant Twist

“May you live in interesting times” runs the Chinese curse. You could also say: “May you live in an interesting country.” Pakistan, for example. It’s full of corruption, violence, misogyny, sectarian hatred and all manner of other pathologies, from cousin marriage to state torture. Any advanced Western democracy would be lunatic to accept immigrants from […]

Helen Suzman’s Perpetual Rage Helped Create the Liberal Paradise of South Africa

Heard these jokes about Jewish mothers? Q: Why aren’t there any Jewish mothers on parole boards? A: They’d never let anyone finish a sentence. Q: What did the waiter ask the group of Jewish mothers? A: “Is anything all right?” Q: What’s the difference between a Rottweiler and a Jewish Mother? A: Eventually, the Rottweiler […]