What's the difference between scepticism and cynicism? Cynicism is especially necessary for assessing politics, says Prof James Alexander, as it sits below scepticism, making us question the motives of those who rule us.
David Starkey is right that Tony Blair and New Labour destroyed the British Constitution and did lasting harm to the country, says Prof James Alexander. But here are some things he gets wrong.
Is there a right to die? As the Assisted Dying Bill vote looms, Prof James Alexander ponders the issues, asking if the whole debate would change if we think of it in terms of duties instead of rights.
The desire to expose politicians as liars is tempting, but naïve, says politics professor James Alexander. Politics depends on lies and the greatest politicians are also the greatest liars.
Beware the 'rule of law', warns Prof James Alexander. Labour's Attorney General Lord Hermer is a proponent of a 'thick' version that opposes 'populism' by taking key decisions out of democratic control.
Whenever politicians call for 'leadership' they invariably mean a political leader who is unconstrained by fiscal prudence when it comes to pursuing a utopian Left-wing goal, whether saving the planet or paying reparations.
A fascist has been elected 47th President of the USA. Or so says the Guardian, which assembled a bunch of Left-wing academics to throw around lazy student insults. It just makes them look dumb, says Prof James Alexander.
Lord Sumption has said that if we are to be free we should do as much as possible by convention, not by law. That's right, says Prof James Alexander. But how does one recover conventions that have been lost or destroyed?
Too many still view American politics through a Left-Right binary, says Prof James Alexander. A better lens is to see that a vote for Harris is a vote for the Court party, while outsider Trump represents the Country.
According to politics professor James Alexander, the dirty little secret of British politics is the leader of the Labour Party can never be a women. If that happened, all hell would break loose.
© 2026 Skeptics Ltd.
