Every delay getting to net zero is a bad idea, which is why Rishi Sunak’s speech is bad news. The above two diagrams show two extreme theoretical paths to net zero. The area under each graph shows how much CO2 would be emitted before 2050, and therefore how much we…

It was rather quiet in my garden this spring. No buzzing bees (I was lucky if I saw one a day), and no chirping or calling by fledglings. There has been a steady decline for years, due to pesticide use, habitat destruction and climate change. …

“A University should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning.” — Benjamin Disraeli. With people worrying about cost of living or the climate, for example, Rishi Sunak apparently thinks it important to reduce the course choice of university students by capping the numbers of students on ‘low-value’…

‘I hate tree-huggers’ — so said Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the so-called Labour Party. Why you should be a tree hugger too! Sir Keir Starmer apparently shares the Tory desire to prioritise economic growth over this green and pleasant land and its people. Yes, we need a strong economy where everyone who can work can get a…

That’s older than me! It was there for me when I was born, and for all my childhood illnesses, which included pneumonia twice. All for free. I’m grateful health care does not lead to bankruptcy in the UK. I didn’t need the NHS much from when I left school until I reached retirement age, though it was good to know it was…

Are you feeling the heat? It’s hot out there Here in the UK it has been a warm, but so far not scorching (at least where I am) year, likely to be warmer than last year as El Niño returns and the oceans are far hotter than usual around the UK and the world…

Defining ‘the public interest’ is not easy, but the term is generally used by those who think that governments should serve the people. It is also therefore used by those who pretend to believe that. Labour and the Lib Dems are accusing Rishi Sunak of trying to cover up ministers’…

The BBC really is in a mess right now. But please bear with me — it is not the fault of the rank and file, apart from a few who wholeheartedly do their masters’ bidding rather than uphold the better traditions of the BBC. It is the fault of the…

[A conservative is someone who] “stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it”. So said William F. Buckley Jr. I say he is wrong. Conservatives don’t yell ‘stop!’, they yell ‘reverse!’ …