Jacob Brookman

    Jacob Brookman

  • The political genius of Ben Elton

    Does anyone remember the band ‘Vanilla’? They were a girl group from North London who released the single ‘No Way No Way’ in 1997 – reaching number 14 in the charts.

  • Close Gitmo? It's about time!

    It’s about time. Since February, detainees have been hunger striking, and according to military officials, 100 of the 166 prisoners are now refusing to eat in protest over their incarceration without trial. Many have been in custody for more than a decade, and for these individuals there is zero prospect of release.

  • Is crowd-sourcing the future of counter-terrorism?

    At the moment, cancer samples are given special stains that highlight certain molecules as part of research. These molecules could reveal how a patient will respond to treatment.

  • After Thatcher, it’s back to business

    But I must say; if there’s one thing I’ve really enjoyed in the past two weeks, it has been the spicy political discourse surrounding Thatcher’s legacy.

  • As a nation, do we want more 'conviction politicians'?

    This should surprise nobody. Thatcher was a politician who polarised opinion; winning three elections on a hard Right agenda, whilst calling dictators such as Augusto Pinochet her friend. That her death provoked street parties is disappointing, but little more.

  • Look Inside America: David Miliband will be back

    This week it emerged that the 47 year old Labour MP for South Shields and former Foreign Secretary, David Miliband was quitting politics to run a charity in America. The news comes two and a half years after his brother, Ed beat him narrowly in a Labour party leadership run-off, leaving his ego severely battered, and his political capital spent.

  • Is it worth following George Osborne on Twitter?

    Recently I went on my annual Twitter cull. It’s similar to a Facebook cull - where you delete dormant connections - only without the terrifying potential to bump into one of them, and be forced to explain yourself.

  • Why alcohol price restrictions wouldn’t work

    Therefore, when it emerged this week that the plan to set a minimum price of alcohol at 45p a unit will probably be axed from next week’s Budget, I must admit, I did a little fist-pump - Henman style.

  • Get over it. A vegetarian view on the horsemeat scandal

    After all, horsemeat is incredibly nutritious, cheap and, I’m told, easy to cook

  • How minority America woke up

    Samuel L. Jackson’s electoral battle cry went out, and the people responded. America ‘woke the f*** up’, and while attributing the US election to any one factor is severely reductive, it is a different kind of confidence that the USA exudes at present.

  • What does a defeated Presidential candidate do?

    The fireworks are unlit and the champagne unpopped. America has spoken more resoundingly than the news networks wanted us to think: Mitt Romney will not be President, and it wasn’t even close.

  • Could We Come to Love Wind Farms?

    This week, confusion has grown over plans to build more onshore wind farms in the UK.

  • Is taking drugs immoral?

    From Colombian cocaine cartels to Afghan opium smuggling, there is a robust link between the illegal sale of narcotics and murder. Little wonder, when the stakes are so high - a 2007 Home Office report estimated the British drugs trade to be worth between £7bn and £8bn, with dealers earning around £100,000 per year.

  • What relaxing travel restrictions means for Cuba

    This week, Cuban President Raúl Castro announced plans to relax Cuba’s restrictions on foreign travel for its citizens, bringing an end to 60 years of immurement.

  • What does being British mean to you?

    Now that the dust has settled on a summer of Queen-related jubilation and breathtaking sports prowess, has our idea of Britishness changed?

  • Why are Britons so hostile towards Mitt Romney?

    There seems to be a trend in the British press of out and out hostility towards Mitt Romney.

  • Is is time to care more about Australian politics?

    This week, on a popular internet forum, an article found its way into the top 10 of the site’s politics section with the intro: ‘In Australia, half our news stories are about American or UK politics [...] My question is how much, if ever, do other countries hear about us?’

  • What does a Minister without portfolio actually do?

    In this week’s cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister David Cameron has made some surprising changes.

  • Is it time to make the rich pay

    So with this in mind, it is hardly surprising that Nick Clegg has reached out to younger voters like me, arguing that the burden of taxation should be shifted from income - what people earn - towards wealth - what people have.

  • What the Marikana Massacre exposes about union power struggles

    Whoever controls the workforce, controls the mine.