Rather than August being the traditional ‘silly season’ the news agenda this year has been busier than ever, with desperate straits in Gaza and Ukraine including Netanyahu’s latest plan, growing opposition to Netanyahu from the army and the public, the collapse in authority of the UN with no concomitant genuine authority from Trump and hisContinue reading “Monday 11 August”
Tag Archives: Labour
Tuesday 6 May
The news agenda has accelerated to fever pitch over the last fortnight, journalists and commentators falling over each other to opine on the latest Trump antics, the local election results, the royals and much else, all adding to pressure on our mental wellbeing. Although the two major parties have long needed a wake-up call, theContinue reading “Tuesday 6 May”
Sunday 19 January 2025
As 2025 gets underway, it feels as the last couple of weeks have been accompanied by a strong whiff of suspended animation, with endless media speculation about the responses of the combatants in the Gaza ceasefire deal and about what Trump will do when he takes up the presidential cudgels again. Agonizes one newspaper: ‘FacedContinue reading “Sunday 19 January 2025”
Sunday 15 December
Syria – what a dramatic turn of events which no one saw coming. Just a month ago, a Western diplomat was apparently arguing that sanctions should be lifted from Assad because clearly he had won the war and now we needed to ‘move on’. Although such a rebel operation (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS) must haveContinue reading “Sunday 15 December”
Sunday 1 December
‘This is a historic day’, the John Cleese character in the film Clockwise repeatedly intoned to himself as he rehearsed his speech while driving to a conference – a scene which has always stuck in my mind. Whether or not we approve of the Assisted Dying Bill passing its first reading (330 to 275 votes),Continue reading “Sunday 1 December”
Saturday 16 November
Having been buffeted by various political maelstroms in recent weeks, which can tax our sense of mental wellbeing, perhaps we’re now in a phase of digesting and adjusting to the effects of these key events including the new government’s first Budget and the election of Donald Trump in the US. Add to this the farContinue reading “Saturday 16 November”
Sunday 27 October
As the Middle East crisis worsens, the Sudanese civil war continues to be under-reported, as Putin boosts his flagging army with North Korean manpower and the US election is imminent, the world certainly looks a dangerous place. Meanwhile, there’s plenty going on here to occupy us but there’d be much more time and space forContinue reading “Sunday 27 October”
Sunday 6 October
Amid so much important and disturbing news, including the worsening conflict in the Middle East, it seems to me that partly due to the power of right wing media, there’s been a major and non-stop attack on Keir Starmer and his government. Said one tweeter: ‘The amount of shit being dumped on Starmer at theContinue reading “Sunday 6 October”
Saturday 17 August
Considering it’s been the traditional media ‘silly season’, maybe no such thing these days, there’s been no shortage of headline grabbing news and some getting very exercised about it. Within days of taking office the new government started talks with the junior doctors and have now put an offer to the rail unions that looksContinue reading “Saturday 17 August”
Sunday 28 July
Three weeks into the new government and as perhaps we should have expected, the media are still expecting Labour to have already cleared up the shocking mess left behind by the Conservatives. And asking how this or that would be paid for – something the media rarely did with the Tories. What’s emerging very stronglyContinue reading “Sunday 28 July”
Politics and mental health - the missing link? 