If anyone thought the Brexit was a good idea, a cursory glance at the state of the global economy and political climate today should be enough to dispel any notion that this was Britain's 'Independence Day'. It wasn't -- the Brexit is going to be a disaster, and in our ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Jun 24, 2016

The image of Britain as an open, diverse, and modern nation now lies in tatters as voters decided to leave the European Union last night and plunge the nation into the unknown.  With (as of writing this) an almost 1 million vote lead, Britons who wanted out of the EU voiced their ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Jun 24, 2016

Two days ago, British Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered by a Tommy Mair in West Yorkshire. She was stabbed, beaten, and shot to death in broad daylight despite passersby's attempts to stop the assault. While details are still emerging about the horrific case, we know that ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Jun 17, 2016

In David Brooks's latest column for the New York Time, he remarks on a recent speech by British prime minister David Cameron that appears to him to represents a modern, progressive conservatism he finds deeply appealing. In his piece, titled "What Republicans Should Say," ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

If you choose to look at the world through the lens of a particular ideology, you won't ever see reality as it is. When it comes to the lens of economic ideology, some schools of thought are so toxic that when applied to human societies, the wreak untold havoc. In the UK, the ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Lord Ashcroft's allegations that David Cameron inserted his penis into a dead pig's mouth as part of a hazing ritual for a hyper elitist Oxford toff club came as no surprise to me. Ashcroft's motivations are certainly questionable (he was denied a top position in the Tory ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

In reference to the allegation that British Prime minister David Cameron inserted his penis into a dead pig's mouth as part of an initiation ceremony into an elitist club at the University of Oxford, YouTube genius 'Cassette Boy; put together this brilliant mashup. It is, well, ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Feb 17, 2016

When you've covered the news for a long time, there isn't a great deal that can shock you about the personal lives of politicians. Tales of sordid encounters with mistresses, prostitutes or rent boys are merely part and parcel of life in the upper echelons of political power, ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Feb 17, 2016

On his first day as Labour party leader during Prime Minister's Question Time, Jeremy Corbyn did the unthinkable and attempted to have a civilized debate with David Cameron. Not only that, he didn't ask his own questions and instead read out emails from members of the public who ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Feb 17, 2016

Former movie star turned political agitator Russell Brand has made a name for himself for his stance on voting. "I don’t vote," said Brand at the MTV Awards in 2012. "I believe democracy is a pointless spectacle where we choose between two indistinguishable political parties, ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Last September, it appeared that the Labour Party had chosen to send a message with its choice of international guest speaker at the annual party conference. As Labour have longed used the American Democratic Party as a canary-in-the-mine, the awarding of the stage to New York ...read more

• By Kojo Koram
  Nov 9, 2018

(Image: a golden Ferrari in London) The UK election is heating up with Brits going to the polls in only 1o days time. The political landscape in Britain is deeply fractured with no one party projected to win enough seats to govern outright. The most likely scenario is some sort ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

So President Obama took a 'selfie' with British prime minister David Cameron and Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during Nelson Mandela's funeral. I'm not one for pomp and ceremony, but I don't think it was particularly appropriate given the circumstances (just take ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

UPDATE: The name of the victim and one of the suspects has been released. From the BBC: The soldier killed in an attack in London has been named as Drummer Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Drummer Rigby, 25, from Manchester, leaves behind a ...read more

• By Guest Contributor
  Oct 30, 2017

The Daily Banter headline grab (from the Guardian): Mitt Romney handed Barack Obama a potential gift for the US presidential election campaign when the presumptive Republican nominee blundered on his first diplomatic outing by questioning whether London was capable of staging a ...read more

• By Guest Contributor
  Nov 9, 2018

By Ben Cohen: After enacting extreme austerity measure in the UK with the promise that cutting spending would solve the economic crisis, the Conservative government has a lot of explaining to do after it was announced last week that Britain was falling back into recession again. ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

By Cora Currier: In front of a British government panel this week, Rupert Murdoch denied that he tried to wield political influence or use his media holdings to further the business interests of News Corp. “I take particular pride in the fact that we’ve never pushed our ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

British police made six arrests early Tuesday in the British media's phone hacking scandal, including Rebekah Brooks, the former top executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International, The Associated Press has learned. Police did not identify those arrested, but a person who had ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

A reader writes in response to my post on France's proposed transaction tax on banks: Read you everyday. How can this possibly work? You know as well as I do that any charge applied by the government to the banks will end up being paid for by the consumer. The cost of doing ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Finally, a Western country has taken the initiative in actually making banks pay for the colossal damage they have done. From the BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to introduce a tax on financial transactions. The 0.1% levy will be introduced in August ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

I have long argued with friends of mine that voting for the Conservative Party in Britain (or the Republicans in America) basically means voting to help rig the government to benefit the rich. The political parties in both countries are two wings of a business party. One side ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

George Osborne The British Conservative government has long argued that deregulation and austerity measures are key to Britain's economic health. According to supply siders David Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne, everyone must go through pain in order to rebalance the ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

I have been struggling to collect my thoughts about the riots in the UK this past week largely because they have affected the areas in which I grew up in London. Watching your home town being burnt and looted is not much fun, and although I am thousands of miles away in Los ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

I spoke to RT's Kristine Frazao yesterday about the London riots and gave my thoughts on the social problems facing the UK's teenage generation: Tragically the riots have spread to other cities around the UK with violence and lawlessness rivalling that of the capital. More ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Despite his best efforts to avoid incriminating himself in Parliament, James Murdoch's testimony has been seriously challenged by two former News of the World senior executives. If Murdoch's account is proven false, the ramifications will be nothing short of devastating. From the ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

As more and more details emerge from the phone hacking scandal in the UK, we are seeing a clearer picture of just how deeply intertwined the Murdoch media and political establishment have been. Jeff Jarvis writes: What was exposed in Parliament during the Murdochs' testimony ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Image by HowardLake Succumbing to enormous public pressure, Rebekah Brooks has finally resigned from News Corp. From the Telegraph: Mrs Brooks, 43, was editor of the News of the World at the time that the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was allegedly hacked on behalf ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

In a move that clearly indicates just how seriously Rupert Murdoch takes the phone hacking scandal, News Corp has withdrawn its bid for BSkyB. From the Independent: Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation withdrew its BSkyB takeover bid today as David Cameron announced details of ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018

Continuing the tradition of stripping money from the state sector, the Conservative government is facing mounting resistance from the British public who have not bought in to the narrative that public sector pensions need 'reforming' (code word for 'defunding'). Reports the ...read more

• By Ben Cohen
  Nov 9, 2018