The more I see of Andy Burnham, the more certain I am that Donald Trump was right to dismiss him as the 'mayor of a town'.
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Trump → see → town
Nothing wrong with being a mayor of a town, of course, but the job doesn't usually prepare you for making big decisions, especially on the international stage.
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job → prepare → stage
Our unelected Prime Minister's most recent blunder about being 'open' to apologising for Britain's role in the slave trade could cost us billions of pounds.
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blunder → apologise → pounds
It is the latest example of his infuriating – and dangerous – tendency to think aloud.
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It → think → tendency
He did it over Scotland last month when suggesting that another Scottish referendum could be held if public opinion showed a demand for one.
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opinion → do → one
Arguably it already does.
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it → do → ?
What Burnham said off the top of his head contradicts the policy of successive governments.
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said → say → governments
He was forced to backtrack.
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He → force → ?
Andy again shot from the hip when he stated he wanted 'an honest discussion' about free movement, membership of the single market and rejoining the EU.
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he → shoot → EU
He casually drops these bombshells without considering the damaging political fallout.
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He → drop → fallout
His comments about apologising for slavery are the most destructive so far because they come before heads of Commonwealth nations meet in the West Indies.
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heads → apologise → Indies
Many Caribbean leaders are clamouring for vast reparations for slavery, which one imaginative UN judge has put at £18trillion.
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judge → clamour → 18trillion
That is six times our stratospheric national debt, and also roughly six times as much as the value of all the goods and services produced by this country in a year.
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That → produce → year
Until last Thursday, the British Government's official position was that it was desperately sorry the slave trade happened.
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trade → happen → Thursday
Our unelected PM Andy Burnham's most recent blunder about being 'open' to apologising for Britain's role in the slave trade could cost us billions of pounds, writes Stephen Glover
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blunder → apologise → pounds
King Charles has repeatedly said as much over the past week during his tour of the Caribbean, and it's what he'll say again tomorrow at a gathering of Commonwealth leaders in Antigua.
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he → say → Antigua
He will speak about the slave trade with 'unflinching honesty' and 'sincere sorrow'.
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He → speak → honesty
But what he won't do is to offer an apology, which is not yet the official position of the British Government despite the loose mouth of our chumpish Prime Minister.
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which → offer → Minister
An apology – as opposed to an expression of sorrow – carries an admission of fault, and therefore of potential liability.
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apology → oppose → liability
Although Burnham has rejected the idea of compensation, he has taken us a step closer to that outcome by advertising his openness to an apology.
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he → reject → apology
No wonder his words were warmly greeted in the Caribbean.
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words → greet → Caribbean
Dorbrene O'Marde, chair of the Antigua and Barbuda reparations support commission, said his organisation welcomed the statement as 'a movement in the correct direction in the interest of reparatory justice and humanity generally'.
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organisation → say → justice
Predictably the body rejected 'the decision that financial reparations will not be on the table'.
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reparations → reject → table
Yet, whether the Prime Minister likes it or not, he has virtually put them there.
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he → like → them
We can feel regret for what our forefathers did, whether in relation to slavery or other abuses, but we can't apologise on behalf of long dead people for making decisions over which we had no control.
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we → feel → control
We can feel sorry about the evils of the past but we cannot be sorry for them because we played no part in perpetrating them.
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we → feel → them
It's understandable that some people feel so sad about what was done to victims of the slave trade that they wish to compensate their descendants, although there isn't much logic in this position, since the descendants of a system that ended nearly 200 years ago in the British Empire are not themselves victims.
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that → feel → Empire
What cannot be accepted is that the British Government has a moral or legal obligation to make financial reparations.
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Government → accept → reparations
Yet I fear it won't be long before Andy Burnham agrees that we do.
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we → fear → ?
He'll probably say he wants to have another 'honest discussion' about it.
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he → say → it
Why are Caribbean leaders demanding huge amounts of our money?
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leaders → demand → money
I believe they also see weakness and intellectual confusion in our leaders.
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they → believe → leaders
The Ottoman Empire practised slavery on a vast scale over hundreds of years yet, so far as I am aware, no one is asking modern-day Turkey to pay reparations to countries in Europe and the Middle East, from where millions of inhabitants were captured and enslaved by the Ottomans.
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millions → practise → Ottomans
From the 7th until the middle of the 20th century, Arab slave traders enslaved millions of Africans.
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traders → enslave → Africans
Does anyone stand up in the United Nations and demand compensation from oil-rich Arab states?
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anyone → stand → states
King Charles (pictured in Guyana on Friday) has repeatedly said as much during his tour of the Caribbean...but what he won't do is to offer an apology
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do → picture → apology
Protesters at Umana Yana during King Charles's visit to Guyana as part of his Caribbean tour
African leaders were also involved in the slave trade on a considerable scale.
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leaders → involve → scale
For example, the Ashanti in modern-day Ghana traded slaves after the British Empire made it illegal to do so in 1807.
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it → trade → 1807
Slavery itself was outlawed by Britain in 1833.
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Slavery → outlaw → 1833
Indeed, British wars against the Ashanti in the 19th century were partly motivated by a desire to stamp out the slave trade and domestic slavery.
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wars → motivate → trade
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
