We need to talk about memorials
This opinion piece was published in The Stray Ferret on 10 June. I want to discuss the issue of public memorials and their proliferation in our area. By memorials, I’m [...]
Harrogate: Station Gateway
Any first-time visitor to Harrogate walking out of the station could be forgiven for thinking they had somehow ended up in Chisinau — the capital of Moldova. Now I’ve never [...]
It’s OK, Toby. It is ok.
(Published in The Stray Ferret here: https://thestrayferret.co.uk/news/latest/opinion-how-staying-at-harrogate-hospital-made-me-rethink-healthcare) The most beautiful moment of my life occurred in Harrogate Hospital in October 2024. I want to use this column to tell you [...]
Op-Ed: in the Stray Ferret
Geopolitics comes to Harrogate (Published on 11 January 2026: https://thestrayferret.co.uk/news/latest/opinion-what-would-a-nato-wobble-mean-for-the-harrogate-district) May we live in interesting times. That old Chinese curse — or blessing — feels uncomfortably relevant, given recent [...]
Keir Starmer isn’t doomed. He’s just stuck in lawyer-mode.
(The below was written for The Yorkshire Post; perhaps they will print; perhaps they won’t) Merry Christmas, Sir Keir Starmer KC. As a former solicitor, I’m used to instructing [...]
Connecting the Public to Power, Without Taking Sides
One of the realities of modern politics is how often significant decisions happen with very little public awareness. Not because they are trivial, rather because they never properly enter the [...]
Vindication?
Following Trump's recent peace deal in the Middle East, I am pasting below my blog on this topic from December 24. ................................................ I wanted Trump to win the last election. [...]
From Party Politics to Pebbles
The below blog is taken directly from the Suffrago blog, which you can sign up to for free here. The style is different, as it’s more corporate (plus I [...]
Viral-y
Posting my thoughts to my favourite platform - TikTok - this last week, I’ve struck a chord, somehow. Circa 100k people have watched my videos: one about my first day [...]
