DestructableCake

Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated. We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain's leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade. If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade? On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt relief, we have been down this track before. Twenty-five years ago, Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History argued that cancelling the debts of poorer countries would give them a fresh start. More than $100 billion of debt was eventually written off, but many of those countries have since built up even bigger debts. Labour are already spending too much on Britain's welfare state, now is not the time for Andy Burnham to be providing global welfare. There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born. And I have even less patience for political elites in commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain. As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven't done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology. Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again. This is all another navel-gazing distraction. The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not endlessly backwards. That means economic partnerships to make us all richer and deeper military and security cooperation against common threats. If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort.

Patrick Stewart. Turned up so early and so unobtrusively to be a star in the reasonably priced car, we mistook him for a delivery driver and asked him to go round the back. Took his hat off and said, “But I’m the captain of the Enterprise”. Fucking nice guy.

🚨 NEW: Green MP Adrian Ramsay will go public on Sunday to criticise Zack Polanski's leadership and claim the party been taken over by pro-Palestinian activists who have replaced its environmental values

Unfolding as predicted. Nothing to do with protecting children.

Regulation & Discipline update on @Arsenal:

A Restore Britain Government will look to abolish tuition fees entirely for those British students entering professions of national importance. The first announced is dentistry. In return, we will ask for a commitment - qualify, work hard and serve Britain for a minimum of ten years. Those who fulfil that commitment will have their fees covered - those who leave will be required to repay a proportionate amount. We should be investing in our own people, training the professionals our country so desperately needs and rewarding those who choose to build their ultra-skilled careers here rather than emigrating overseas. Our message to those aspiring young British men and women is this... Britain will invest in you. In return, we ask you to invest in Britain.