Author Archives: Jack Williams

Opinion: Russell Brand – a turgid mess of a manifesto

By Jack Williams | Mon 28th October 2013 - 8:58 am

On Friday this week I was challenged by a friend to read Russell Brand’s article in the New Statesman, after I went on Facebook to casually eviscerate his interview with Jeremy Paxman. I cursed my friend for making this request, which seemed too reasonable to refuse yet to tiresome to enjoy. Below is an edited version of my response.

I have now read the piece and I think it is self-referential to the point of narcissism. Brand’s intellectual ambitions literally reach for the stars. But his self-congratulatory ignorance is exposed by his failure to provide evidence beyond …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured, new statesman, revolution and russell brand | 57 Comments

Opinion: Dr Strangelove: or how I got utterly fed up with the Left

By Jack Williams | Tue 9th April 2013 - 1:29 pm

Yesterday Margaret Thatcher died.

Predictably social media exploded with chatter about the passing of an epoch-defining politician. Perhaps it says something about the kind of people I associate with, that I found myself reading one comment after another proclaiming “Ding dong the witch is dead”. Some of my Facebook ‘friends’ have even posted grinning photographs of themselves celebrating the happy event.

Whatever it says about my social circle, it says plenty about the Left.

I grew up in a left-wing household. My parents were of the CND generation, Labour party members who supported the miners’ strikes. I had only just started school when …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured and margaret thatcher | 153 Comments