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Why Scottish Independence could cause a UK political earthquake
Leave a commentSeptember 3, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
As the “Yes” campaign gathers what is beginning to look like inexorable momentum a possible political scenario is taking shape …
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Another nail in Alex Salmond’s currency coffin
1September 3, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Another day, another nail in Alex Salmond’s currency coffin. Last night, The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander talked …
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Why we should welcome the introduction of free school meals for all
Leave a commentSeptember 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
From today, every single child in the first three year of school will eligible for a free school meal. That …
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Douglas Carswell and the start of the reshaping of UK politics into a three-party system
Leave a commentSeptember 1, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Douglas Carswell is a rare political animal, in that he isn’t a political animal at all. He had a career …
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Why mobile games are the new route to building an all-consuming entertainment brand
Leave a commentAugust 31, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
A great example of how creative industries are changing is the upcoming life cycle of ‘Best Fiends’, a new games …
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Think all children love summer holidays? Think again.
2August 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Back in 2008, the school I taught at got inspected by Ofsted. One of the most shocking statistics that came …
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Rotherham child sex abuse scandal – Multiculturalism isn’t the problem, the interpretation of it is.
Leave a commentAugust 29, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It seems that the main culprit in the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal has been named as multiculturalism. Some have …
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Should we be offering free summer holiday meals for the poorest?
1August 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I yield to no-one in my insistence that the existence of food banks in this country is a stain on …
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Airbnb are winning, but what if the playing field were levelled?
Leave a commentAugust 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
As the summer holidays come to an end, I wonder how many of you will have come back from a …
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Salmond decides the referendum is now on currency union, not just independence
Leave a commentAugust 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
By far the wierdest portion of the Scottish Independence campaign last night was when Alex Salmond decided to unilaterally remodel …
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Hamas signing up to the ICC makes sense if you view it as suicide bombing by legal means
Leave a commentAugust 25, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It may seem odd to some that Hamas’s leaders are willing to risk their freedom in order to support the …
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It is time we put the word ‘banter’ back where it should be
Leave a commentAugust 24, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Reading the League Managers’ Association’s (LMA) ridiculous explanation for the content of the alleged texts and emails between Malky Mackay, …
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How strong is the case for nationalising the mobile phone companies?
1August 23, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Should we renationalise the mobile phone companies? If you had asked me that until about a week ago I would …
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Non-compulsory languages – the government decision that has done most to harm social mobility in the UK
Leave a commentAugust 22, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
10 years ago a decision was made that destroyed the life chances of many a bright student. In a move …
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Today’s GCSE results are more reliable than ever before.
Leave a commentAugust 21, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Statistics on GCSE can be and have been misleading for quite a while now. But that has been changing. Not …
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Tony Abbott – secret weapon for the Scottish “Yes” Campaign
Leave a commentAugust 20, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
If I were Alistair Darling I would have been on the phone to the Foreign Office last week asking who …
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Why we should have a free vote on whether to repeal the fox hunting ban
Leave a commentAugust 19, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
This week, Barney White-Spunner, the Chairman of the Countryside Alliance, threatened David Cameron with the withdrawal of helpers in the …
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Why Nigel Farage has chosen South Thanet for the 2015 election
Leave a commentAugust 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Pubs of Ramsgate and Margate, get the beers in, Nigel Farage is coming to town. Yes, the UKIP leader has …
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The Puzzling Politics of Foreign Policy (non)-Intervention
Leave a commentAugust 17, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Anyone really know what to do about the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS)? As they continue to advance …
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Fewer A-level retakes may result in ‘worse’ grades but also ‘better’ students
1August 16, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It used to be that beneath the ‘good’ news of constantly improving A-level grades was some rather ‘bad’ news of …
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Israel’s electorate didn’t “choose” their government
Leave a commentAugust 15, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
One of the criticisms I have heard about Israelis over the past month is that if they were interested in …
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Mark Simmonds’s resignation highlights the unrealistic expectations we have of our MPs
Leave a commentAugust 14, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Mark Simmonds, the MP for Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire and the Foreign Office Minister for Africa, announced this week …
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The economics of seats at the cigar terrace at the Wellesley hotel
Leave a commentAugust 13, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Something that few people understand about restaurants is that rather than selling food, they are in fact selling space. More …
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Universities UK tuition fee impact figures should lead to a discussion about what a university education is for
Leave a commentAugust 12, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So Universities UK published a report recently that is the first proper attempt to analyse the effect of raising university …
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Victim impact statements – no place in a democracy except for rehabilitation
Leave a commentAugust 11, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There is a reason that victims are not allowed to be the judge or the jury. Take me for instance, …
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Nick Clegg and the politics of border controls.
Leave a commentAugust 10, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
How can a proper immigration control system exist in his country that counts and checks the people coming in but …
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Dear George Galloway – what would happen if I go to ‘Israel-free’ Bradford?
4August 9, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Dear George I was wondering if you could help me with a problem that I have with the practicalities of …
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Amos Oz and the leap of faith that may be required to secure Israel’s future
Leave a commentAugust 8, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Over the past few days four people whom I respect for their intellect, genuine interest in current affairs and lack …
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Was Sayeeda Warsi’s resignation about principle, or about her?
Leave a commentAugust 7, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
For a while yesterday I admired Baroness Sayeeda Warsi’s decision to resign from her position on the government yesterday on …
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5 thoughts on tonight’s Scottish Independence debate
Leave a commentAugust 5, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
1 The general view was that this was an excellent debate, particularly in the first hour when the candidates were …
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GDP being back where it was is not a ‘recovery’. Investment needs to recover too.
Leave a commentAugust 5, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
About a fortnight ago the government announced triumphantly that the economy had fully recovered from the recession. To illustrate this …
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Balls says most of us are worse off than in 2010, the Tories’ response is simple yet probably effective
Leave a commentAugust 4, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In a speech the other day Ed Balls decided to channel that famous leftie Ronald Reagan when he asked the …
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Whole of life health and social care insurance or “Death tax”? Worth a debate
Leave a commentAugust 3, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Two years’ ago, having supported Andrew Lansley’s reforms, David Cameron lost his bottle in the face of opposition from health …
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Flat tax flattened
Leave a commentAugust 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Amusingly, Oliver Letwin, one of David Cameron’s closest advisors, has been reported by the Daily Mirror as having suggested that …
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To ‘win’ from here, Israel needs to play a different game
2August 1, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
As a Liberal Zionist (if you want to know what that is, read here and then for a post-Gaza liberal …
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However much profit you make, cashflow is king.
Leave a commentJuly 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Cashflow is king for a business. One of the first things that I try and get over to students when …
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Why does a publicly funded academy think good teaching is ‘commercially sensitive’
Leave a commentJuly 29, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Sometimes you hear something that makes you stop in your tracks and realise that our education system is going in …
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Why tax the poor to make our high streets nicer?
Leave a commentJuly 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I grew up in a small town north west of London called Northwood. The high street used to be a …
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I hope David Ward genuinely believes what he is saying and isn’t just doing it for votes
Leave a commentJuly 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
This is going to sound strange, but if someone is going to be anti-Israeli, or even anti-Semitic, I would prefer …
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Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement – we still have one Labour Party
Leave a commentJuly 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement as the leader of an opposition party that was just battered at a General Election has …
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Election watch – Chris Philp vs Emily Benn in Croydon South
Leave a commentJuly 25, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I wonder what Conservative Parliamentary candidate Chris Philp was thinking when he first heard that he would be standing against …
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Haringey Council should invoice Ed Balls for some of the £600,000 they have had to pay Sharon Shoesmith
Leave a commentJuly 24, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There is a good case for Labour Shadow chancellor Ed Balls contributing out of his own pocket to Sharon Shoesmith’s …
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Why I read whatever Owen Jones writes (and you should too)
Leave a commentJuly 23, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I met one of my heroes last night He’s about 30 years old, looks a lot younger, and I disagree …
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There is no solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict if we don’t negotiate with Hamas
1July 22, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I feel that whenever I write about Israel I need to declare an interest. I am Jewish, I am the …
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MH17 – will Putin blink?
Leave a commentJuly 21, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There are two explanations for the missile being fired that shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 on Thursday. One is …
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Laffer says tobacco taxes should be lower…but follow the money
Leave a commentJuly 20, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
When Arthur Laffer speaks about tax, people listen. So when he delivered his opinion that tobacco taxes could be too …
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Gove’s removal means the election was put above education
5July 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
During his time as Education Secretary, Michael Gove would often quote a passage of Machiavelli: ‘There is nothing more difficult, …
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A “No” vote will leave the West Lothian question unanswered
Leave a commentJuly 17, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
When the “No” campaign aren’t spending their time pointing out the actual consequences of the Scots voting for independence (called …
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Goldblog
Politics and Economics comment. Co-Author of How to Lose a Referendum – the Definitive Story of Why Britain Voted for Brexit [http://bit.ly/2ryynRG]. PhD Student KCL – Parliamentary Scrutiny of 2015 EU Referendum Act. Economics and Politics teacher in London. 18 years teaching experience. Prior to that a management consultant. All opinions here are my own.
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