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.
As a father who just chose not to send my older son to public school, here's what's happening:
1. NYC public schools are full of woke, mentally ill people. The teachers, the students, the counselors, everyone is wacked out. If you're just a normal parent that wants a normal school with a normal focus on education, good behavior, friendship, manners, etc. you are shit out of luck.
2. While there are some good elementary schools, most middle schools are atrocious, and result in some of the biggest drops in education outcomes. Even if you send your kid to a good elementary public school, you're 100% going to move in time for middle school. And if you make it to high school, your only hope are the specialized schools, but mamdani the islamist is intent on destroying them, which would completely fuck your kids.
3. The average kid in an average NYC public school is stupid as hell. 70% do not read proficiently for their grade level. They can't do math. They have a ton of behavioral issues and are bad influences on your kid.
As a normal father of a normal family I'm paying an absurd amount of taxes and for what? My hard earned money is being wasted on the comically evil teachers union, paying adult day care fraudsters, and subsidizing the "73% of public school students in poverty." This is just a scam. Those kids are not in poverty. Their parents work under the table, don't report anything to not pay taxes, and get ridiculous government subsidies.
Everyone is running a scam and families like mine are paying for it. It's no wonder so many of my peers left and despite living in NYC for coming on 30 years, I probably will too at some point.
Four women attacked in two days. The suspect arrested TWICE—and walks free BOTH times.
This is why violence against women has surged under Letitia James. She helped write the bail laws that have created a revolving door of criminality. She stands by silently as district attorneys downgrade charges in domestic violence cases.
I will be a different kind of Attorney General — one who helps fix the bail laws, one who demands that cases be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and steps in when they are not, one who stops violence before it starts so that innocent people don’t get hurt.
Vote for change. Vote for a safer New York. Go vote now.