Going, but not gone

July 8, 2022 by Leave a comment

So Boris Johnson finally read the writing on the wall, and grudgingly agreed to step down as Prime Minister, though not quite yet. He will stay on until a successor has been identified, which may take until October. In the meantime he has promised to run a lame-duck administration, though how exactly that will differ from the current rudderless government isn’t clear.

There is no obvious front-runner in the race to replace Johnson, and the field isn’t exactly inspiring, so it looks like the country will continue to slide into disorder, as various national and international crises pile up. A General Election might provide some respite, but I can’t see any of the potential new PMs being reckless enough to call one, so, as has been the repeated pattern over the last few years, things seem likely to get a lot worse before they get any better.

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Farewell Boris?

July 6, 2022 by Leave a comment

Meanwhile, back home, it looks like Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister may finally be drawing to a close, as once-loyal ministers reportedly gather to tell him that the game’s a bogey.

The time difference makes it a bit difficult to keep up with all the latest developments, and, to be honest, sitting here in the Californian sunshine, I’m finding it hard to care that much. There will be plenty of time to catch up when I’m back.

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Los Angeles, July 4th 2022

July 4, 2022 by Leave a comment

With my characteristic good timing, I’ve chosen a moment when the US seems to be entering one of its periodic spells of paranoid reaction to pay my first visit to the country in nearly 30 years.

Fortunately I’m in California, visiting some old radical buddies, so I doubt I’ll experience anything too illiberal. If anything, the recent developments seem to have energised the left, around here at least, though I suspect that what I am observing is just one side of the country’s deepening polarisation, rather than a more general progressive shift.

Whatever; my trip is a social one, so I’m going to leave the politics for another day, and focus on catching up on a personal level with some people I haven’t seen for far too long. As you might imagine, my friends are not the most patriotic of citizens, but we’re going to settle back tonight with some beers, and a joint or two, to watch the fireworks, and dream of a better future.

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