At dinner last week with a number of friends from Eastern Europe, our conversation moved from the nerve agent attack in Salisbury to what patriotism meant to us and who felt they belonged and wanted to stay in the UK. My dinner companions were all skilled English speakers, but yet some did not feel they […]
Articles
When it comes to integration, removing barriers is essential – but people need a place to connect
The Government has released its long-awaited integration strategy, developed methodically behind the scenes with the close involvement of civil society organisations – including providers of community-based English programmes like Creative English. As Eric Pickles, former Secretary of State for Communities, said when the 2010 coalition government launched the community English programme: “If you can’t speak […]
Don’t pay the NHS an extra £350million a week!
Don’t pay the NHS an extra £350million a week, but well done to Simon Steven’s who may have single-handedly moved the Brexit debate on from political machinations, to life after Brexit and what we want it to be. The NHS will always need more cash, and there should be a steady increase of what it […]
If we’re going to have ‘British values’, can we add these?
Teachers all over the country are trying to find ways to add the government’s ‘British values’ to their lessons. The British values are: democracy the rule of law individual liberty mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith
Since when did we allow news to be supplanted by commentary?
I’m fed up with commentary and opinion masquerading as fact and news! This happens when those who are supposedly ‘reporters or correspondents’ have become pundits, yet there has been no indication of the change in their role. That’s not to say I don’t engage with commentary: I buy news magazines, I read blogs, I watch […]