Boris’s miners joke reveals his contempt for the working class

Writing in The Spectator, Claire takes issues with Boris Johnson’s comments about the miners’ strike… In March this year, 35 years to the month since the end of the miners’ strike, environmentalists were caught dressing up as miners. Their media stunt was intended to protest against a proposed expansion to the Bradley coal mine in … Read more

Claire discusses the Battle of Ideas on GB News

Claire was a guest on Tonight Live with Dan Wootton on GB News, where she discussed attempts to shut down debate during lockdown, the importance of free and open discussion in a post-pandemic world, and the real-life Battle of Ideas festival event, Open for Debate, taking place in Westminster this Saturday, 31st July. Get your … Read more

A ‘Zoom parliament’ is bad for democracy

Is the new normal here to stay? For the sake of our parliamentary democracy, let’s hope not, writes Claire in The Spectator…  At the very time when the Executive needed to be prodded, probed and interrogated over the hundreds of statutory instruments controlling every aspect of public life, Parliament was reduced to stultifying and formulaic set … Read more

Lockdown lessons

The chasm between the rule-makers and the ruled has been viscerally brought to life by differing attitudes to and experiences of lockdown restrictions, argues Claire in The MJ… There’s a lot to say on the Batley and Spen by-election; according to locals, the Matt Hancock saga was significant. Some traditional Tory voters were so outraged … Read more

Politics Live: 1st July 2021

Claire joined Tim Loughton, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Miatta Fahnbulleh and Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn to discuss whether covid rules should be relaxed for the next England Euros 2020 game, the stamp duty holiday, banks giving guidance about pronouns, and fairness in British society. Watch the discussion on iPlayer.

The Online Safety Bill’s threat to free speech

Claire hosted a Free Speech Union discussion with the FSU’s Director of Research, Dr Radomir Tylecote, and Matthew Lesh, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, about the Online Safety Bill and their briefing You’re On Mute: The Online Safety Bill and what the Government should do instead’, a critical assessment of the Government’s … Read more