Graham Brady-Mp

Thursday

Graham Brady-Mp

How twee triumphed, Graham Brady on Tory turmoil & celebrating pigs in blankets

From our UK edition

37 min listen

This week: are we drowning in a sea of twee? Gareth Roberts writes the cover article this week, arguing against what he sees as the hideous triviality of our times. ‘The British have lost their aversion to glutinous sentimentality,’ he declares. How did we get here, and who are the worst offenders? Gareth argues that the triumph of twee has left us unable to face serious things with seriousness. Could there be sinister consequences if we don’t take this more seriously? Gareth joined the podcast to make his case, alongside Josh Cohen, psychoanalyst and author of All The Rage (00:49). Then: was Graham Brady the ‘kingmaker’ or the ‘kingslayer’ of the past Tory era? The shadow cabinet member and Conservative M.P.

Friday

Graham Brady-Mp

Parliament is weak and ineffective — it needs to change

From our UK edition

Only a third of the public think Parliament is effective in holding government to account: two thirds want improvement of our democratic institutions. We struggle to get more than two in three adults to cast a vote at a general election. It is widely held that anti-politics is the prevailing mood of our times. With depressing regularity though, discussions involving politicians and the media focus not on how to improve our democracy, but rather on how we can better communicate the brilliance of our achievements to those too cynical or ill-informed to see them. My eighteen years in the Commons have led me to a different conclusion: I think Parliament is weak, ineffective and in need of radical change.

Tuesday

Graham Brady-Mp

The US has taken a stance against Argentina’s brinkmanship — it’s time we joined them

From our UK edition

The 30th anniversary of the Falklands War – and the bellicose rhetoric (and videos) currently emerging from Buenos Aires — has once more shone a spotlight on the UK’s relationship with Argentina. Were it not for the Falklands, it’s unlikely that Argentina would occupy much discussion in this country. The truth, for those of us who have followed the country’s recent history, is that Argentina, most notably under the current Government, is truly remarkable. But for all the wrong reasons. In Britain, of course, our chief concern is the ongoing nationalist rhetoric that President Cristina Kirchner is whipping up around the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Saturday

Graham Brady-Mp

The case for privatising Manchester airport

From our UK edition

It is 12 years since Tony Blair did battle with the socialist dinosaurs and forced them to abandon their commitment to nationalisation with his celebrated ‘Clause 4 moment’ — the very birth of New Labour. It is 12 years since Tony Blair did battle with the socialist dinosaurs and forced them to abandon their commitment to nationalisation with his celebrated ‘Clause 4 moment’ — the very birth of New Labour. Now that Blair has been and gone, you would struggle to find a serious politician in any party who would advocate state ownership of any industry as a 21st-century model. Indeed, the idea of the state running our utilities, airlines or railways now seems archaic and even faintly ridiculous.