INVENIRE

Emboldened by electoral victory last November, Trump is governing unrestrained. He straddles the Western hemisphere as Punch's Rhodes did Africa, spanning everything from the Panama Canal to Greenland and the Great White North with the threat of mass deportations, import tariffs, and outright annexations. That he is discussing the futures of sovereign countries with democratically elected, internationally recognised leaders is all but a footnote to his one-page memorandum to see America win again. He wields his baton of choice, tarriff by executive order, with all the confidence of a Victorian policeman. It is increasingly clear, where it was not before, what Trump's priorities will be in his second term. Confusion abounded between November and January as to what Trump 2.0 would look like. His executive branch nominees included both union fanatics and business leaders, both loyalist lawyers and venture capitalists. A rift appeared in the MAGA coalition following the appointment...

Starmergeddon has reminded us that being in opposition is much easier than running the country. While good governance requires making the "tough choices" to which Starmer and Reeves have alluded, opposition consists of identifying the Government's failures and presenting one's party as the common sense replacement. The Conservatives have played to this natural advantage, organising opposition to the Government's plans to de-universalise the Winter Fuel Allowance for over-65s and introduce inheritance tax on agricultural estates. The Tories batted well to defend their target voters, painting the Labour Party as incalculably cruel by comparison. The 'Family Farm Tax', as it was soon monikered, was even more fertile ground politically. Britain's farmers, stewards of our green and pleasant land, were heroes in conflict with a cabal of metropolitan left-wingers who sought to undermine their  way of life . While reliable polling of public opinion is not yet ...

After Kemi Badenoch's McFarce earlier this week, Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick is emerging as the champion of the party's right-wing, and the outright frontrunner in the four-way contest. In an opinion piece for the Daily Mail, that megaphone of Middle England, Jenrick claimed that left-liberal policies on immigration and the culture had "put the very idea of England at risk." Without detailing the minutiae of what constitutes Englishness, Jenrick awoke the dormant conversation surrounding the identity of the largest nation in the Union. What was once the preserve of irrelevant, eschewed political parties, such as the English Democrats, is now contested on Sky News, and in that sense, Jenrick has already won the day by bringing the issue to the attention of the public. In addition to his predictable commitments to having Britain leave the ECHR, the Tory candidate has reminded us that England matters too, advertising himself as the man to revive the C...

Britain finally took sentencing seriously this summer. Despite previous announcements that prisons were incapable of absorbing more convicts, courts stood firmly on the side of order. The use of televised sentencing only heightened perceptions that the crimes committed in the aftermath of the Southport stabbing were particularly egregious. The decision to broadcast sentencing statements to every TV screen in the country was not a ploy to fill up TV programming schedules, but evidence that even TV executives were fully devoted to the mission of His Majesty's Government.  While most Britons supported the crackdown on violent conduct, efforts to police speech surrounding the riots spurred on debate regarding appropriate limits to speech in general. That "grossly offensive" speech is criminalised under the 2003 Communications Act drew the derision of many international observers, including Elon Musk. Whether motivated by genuine support for our speech laws or merely a reflexi...

Suella Braverman came under fire for her criticism of the Progress Flag There are few gulfs greater than that between the rhetoric and the policy accomplishments of the Conservative and Unionist Party. The eight years since the Brexit referendum have seen numerous Conservative politicians style themselves as committed traditionalists, supposedly determined to reverse the constitutional and cultural change initiated by New Labour. Nevertheless, despite a General Election victory to the tune of a majority of 80 in 2019, the Conservative Party has brought about an anti-work marginal tax schedule , given up on border control, and presided over a soft-sentencing approach to law and order. Have we had a Conservative Party at all? A perusal of The Telegraph's opinion section at any point between the dampened Downing Street election announcement and polling day itself makes the size of the gulf ghastly. Every week saw a new plea by a Tory parliamentarian or one of their Fleet Street allies...

The Los Angeles Lakers' selection of Lebron "Bronny" James Jr. in the NBA Draft last week reminded us that nepotism is alive and kicking. The best player of the past twenty years gave his son, an unremarkable college basketball player, a remarkable first job. Such an action would have been impossible for James Sr's parents, and so such an act demonstrated that the James family are members of some elite, even if it lacks the shields and signet rings of the older European aristocracy. Lebron James drinks the wine of the American Dream vineyard. Though born poor, he was, more importantly, born into a society that rewarded his blend of physical giftedness and hard work. Lebron the elite talent became Lebron the elite performer and has become Lebron, member of the American elite. He has the social and economic clout necessary to set up schools, purchase Los Angeles mansions and have people sit up when he comments on social issues, such as the NFL national anthem protests. ...