As I promised last Monday, here is a new series I’ll be trialing called Best of the Week. It’s basically a list of the best opinion articles I’ve read over the week- a very brief summary of them, and a one-sentence reaction to them. I’ve often been asked where I get my news from, and particularly in the era of ‘fake news,’ its important to read truthful and accurate stories. Having said that, not all of the articles I’ll present will reflect my own views. But perhaps they’ll be useful in understanding how others think, or simply a very compelling argument for an alternative point of view. Let me know what you think of this series- whether you’d want it to continue, any suggestions for improvements.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/14/is-labour-manifesto-fantasy-land-quite-the-opposite. Probably the most compelling case for a Labour government I’ve read. Elliot argues that a desire for the status quo is madness- things simply have to change, however audacious they may seem. I share Labour’s current appetite for radical thinking, but running large deficits isn’t revolutionary, it’s irresponsible.

https://www.vox.com/2017/6/1/15726726/trump-paris-climate-agreement-republicans. An excellent explanation that not only does Republican climate change denial predate Trump, the party establishment shares his scepticism of the need for governments to take action to prevent climate change. It’s important to emphasise that Trump is the symptom, not the problem itself. The Republican establishment played a key role in his rise.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/06/well-done-jeremy-corbyn-for-being-the-least-shrill-person-in-politics/. A fantastic piece on the tendency for politicians to use hyperbole in recent years, which is why Corbyn neglecting to deploy apocalyptic scenarios about the prospect of a Tory win is so admirable.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/speakerscorner/2017/06/brexit-and-election an analysis on how trade has never been more important to the British economy, and an exposing of the myth that trade will be bolstered from Britain leaving the Customs Union.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/opinion/europe-nato-defense.html?ref=opinion&_r=0. Guy Verhofstadt outlines the failures and inefficiencies of current European defence policy, and how a European Defence Union may address those issues. I agree with Verhofstadt’s desire for closer co-operation on defence matters, but I would be wary about having too many foreign policy decisions taken at the European level. While I’m a firm believer in the European project generally, there is obviously an upper limit to integration, and defence is one area where integration may go too far.