One wonders what French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire would have made of the Free Speech Union (FSU). Set up by British journalist Toby Young, the FSU presents itself as a “non-partisan, mass-membership organisation that stands up for the speech rights of its members.” An organisation to promote free speech – what nobler cause could there be? Read more

Every now and then, a new word pops up to encapsulate the mood of the time – and the best neologisms make you think “Gee, I should have thought of that.” ‘Westlessness’ is such a word. It was the motto of this year’s Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest conference on international security policy. Read more

Solving New Zealand’s housing crisis is hard. Writing good policy reports is too. Read more

Last week, the Thuringian parliament in Erfurt elected Thomas Kemmerich state premier. This was not only remarkable because his liberal Free Democrats have only five members in a parliament of 90. Read more

A wise man once said nothing is as old as yesterday’s newspaper. That would render Brexit, which went into effect last Friday, a piece of ancient history. Read more

This Friday, the 31st of January 2020, is a historic day. After 47 years of membership, and with 1,317 days passed since the 2016 referendum, the UK is leaving the European Union. Read more

The greatest social scandal of our time barely raises eyebrows anymore. Every year for the past 16 years, urban consultancy Demographia releases their international ‘Housing Affordability Survey’. Read more

The Prime Minister had declared 2019 “the year of delivery”. Voters will eventually judge the government on whether it has succeeded. Read more

When Christine Lagarde became president of the European Central Bank in November, she inherited a challenging legacy from her predecessor Mario Draghi. The ECB’s key people are openly divided on the future direction of monetary policy. Read more