It is hard for humans to imagine things radically outside their own experience.

As there has never been a major worldwide pandemic in this age of globalisation, contemplating that tens — or possibly even hundreds — of millions of people may be about to die is simply not within the realms of things most of us are willing to consider.

Executive summary

The Supreme Court’s definitive demolition of the PM’s illegal prorogation of Parliament means that Parliament will now return with immediate effect. If Boris Johnson does not do the decent thing and resign with immediate effect, then it is likely that Parliament, whose sovereignty the Supreme Court have affirmed, will look for a way of getting rid of him.

Boris Johnson’s planned suspension of parliament has highlighted just how fragile and unfit for purpose Britain’s ‘democratic’ structures are.

[*This blog post is based on the pamphlet: Truth and its consequences: a memo to fellow rebels on smart strategy written by Rupert Read. If you like this blog, then do read the whole pamphlet!]

Our October Rebellion needs to be bigger than April’s was. Way bigger. Because this time, it has to be about not just getting verbal concessions from power, pious declarations of climate and ecological emergency without actual consequence. No; that’s just not good enough. Because this is the age of consequences. There’s no more time to play with…

The past month has witnessed an unprecedented turnaround of public opinion on the climate and ecological emergencies. When the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ broke out in mid-April, the media turned its gaze with almost unremitting hostility onto the inconvenience that it was bringing to motorised traffic in London. A fortnight later, everything had changed.

For the first time in 40 years, the UK has to re-consider its trading policy. At the moment, there is plenty of talk about “falling back” onto World Trading Organisation (WTO) rules in the event of a no-deal Brexit, an outcome which Theresa May’s giant game of ‘chicken’ makes dangerously likely. And indeed, if this is what happens, the UK will find itself solely under the minimalist rules-based trading system of the WTO.

Last week, the upper House inflicted a historic defeat on the Government’s Trade Bill. This article explains the reasons for and the significance of the defeat, in the context of the struggle over Brexit and in defence of a precautionary approach to environmental- and public-health- protection.