POOR BOYS FAILED BY SOCIETY

The disadvantage that poor young
boys experience in schools is merely a
reflection of how society treats them
more generally. It has to be said that
a key reason underlying this situation
has been the growth of feminism.

Feminism increasingly defines the 
identities of young, mainly working
-class men. Middle-class followers

of the feminist movement have

successfully skewed society to 

reflect their own, continuing, anti-male 

agenda. Divorce law, including financial

settlements, child custody and one-sided

anonymity in cases of alleged sexual 

impropriety are examples 

Endemic since the 1980s, it is a process

that has been given added impetus by

accelerating economic and social

change. It has happened at a time

when Britain has been transformed

into a service-focused economy.

The result has been the greater 

empowerment of women in the 

workplace over the past fifty years.

They have benefited from improved 

educational opportunities and the

ability to control their fertility. It has 

meant growing financial independence 

from men, not only for those in work, 

but also for young, single mothers who 

have been prioritised for housing and 

receive attractive state benefits.

Along with this has been the changing 

perception of what is meant by a 

nuclear family. It is a complex and 

fluid picture. Marriage continues 

to decline with 42% of marriages 

ending in divorce. 

Serial monogamy and cohabitation 

between single-sex couples are 

common. Gone is much of the 

stability and certainty of family life 

in the 1950s.

In its place are more fragmented 

environments, often devoid of the

influence of paternal role models, 

which are so important in the 

development of the male identity.

Feminist opinion-formers in 

politics, education, the law and 

especially in the media are not 

seeking a comapact between the 

sexes, but female preferment, in 

the form of positive discrimination. 

The impact of the corrosive influence 

that the feminist lobby has had on 

female attitudes to men has been 

profound.

In education, where only 12% of 

primary school teachers are male, 

the predominantly female culture 

cannot, nor in many cases would 

it seek to, encourage the 

development of the male identity 

as such. 

Female characteristics are seen as 

good, male as bad. Many male 

graduates are put off teaching 

by the threat of being falsely 

accused of improper behaviour, 

the consequences of which are 

often devastating. 

Gender bias continues into 

secondary education. Some ten 

years' ago, Jenny Murray, presenter 

of the BBC Woman's Hour, asked 

a guest why boys outperformed girls 

in GCSEs. She was told that boys 

responded better to the pressure of 

an examination, whereas girls 

preferred coursework.

Murray's reply was that if that was 

the system, then change it. It was,

leading to less rigour, which 
undermined the credibility of the

examination in schools and further

up the learning chain in higher

education. 

This background provides many of
the root causes for many of the 

chronic social problems that 

disadvantage young men. They 
leave school with inferior or no

qualifications, poorer job prospects

and face unemployment. 

Dismissed as potential husbands, 

fathers and providers by young 

women who are supported by the 

state, they feel unwanted and 

express growing anger. 

Greater tolerance in society for 

generalised 'men are useless' 

statements, jokes, advertisements 

and so on, than would be used to 

refer to any other group, reflects a 

situation for which there is an 

increasing human and economic 

cost. 

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MARXISM AND THE BBC

Labour may have fallen into the political abyss, but, fear not, the obscenely-rewarded Marxist attack-dogs at the BBC will continue to carry the torch for the hard left, as it corrodes the fabric of our democracy. The BBC’s glaring political bias and profligate funding of its global news output calls for an urgent root-and-branch review of its activities. In the meantime, Conservative politicians should not subject themselves to aggressive and tendentious interrogation by the BBC on its main news channels. If, as likely, the method of BBC funding remains intact until 2026, it should be a requirement that the Corporation adhere to the terms set out in its Royal Charter, including those of fair and balanced reporting. Although the proposed decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee is welcome, it will do nothing to address the question of the over 75s, losing their free TV licence, effectively cutting the connection of many with the outside world. Perhaps this could be avoided if the corporation were to eliminate the waste of taxpayers’ money. Here, the reported £32m spent by BBC Scotland on six new channels no-one watches, may well the tip of an extremely large iceberg. The most appealing part of the Andrew Marr Show this morning was a rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah -which is precisely how I feel about the result of Thursday’s election. Hallelujah! Boris, the Prince Hal of British politics, has delivered

IDENTITY POLITICS AND THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY

The deep divide between Brexiteers and Remainers signals the journey to oblivion
for traditional Left/Right party politics. Simultaneously, the growing dissonance 
between the political elite and those whom they represent is fragmenting the
electorate into an increasingly disparate array of identity groups, each demanding
amends for a particular injustice or cause in their community.

This does not bode well for the future of democracy and is making the country 
ungovernable. Politically radical elements are increasingly manipulating voters to 
vent their frustration at being ignored and thereby disenfranchised by career
politicians in the Westminster bubble, not through the ballot-box, but by other
means.

FEMINISM SCREWS IT FOR THE BOYS

hle 

agenda. Divorce law, including financial

settlements, child custody and one-sided

anonymity in cases of alleged sexual 

impropriety are examples 

Endemic since the 1980s, it is a process

that has been given added impetus by

accelerating economic and social

change. It has happened at a time

when Britain has been transformed

to a mainly service economy.

The result has been the greater 

empowerment of women in the 

workplace over the past fifty years.

They have benefited from improved 

educational opportunities and the

ability to control their fertility. It has 

meant growing financial independence 

from men, not only for those in work, 

but also for young, single mothers who 

have been prioritised for housing and 

receive attractive state benefits.

Along with this has been the changing 

perception of what is meant by a 

nuclear family. It is a complex and 

fluid picture. Marriage continues 

to decline with 42% of marriages 

ending in divorce. 

Serial monogamy and cohabitation 

between single-sex couples are 

common. Gone is much of the 

stability and certainty of family life 

in the 1950s.

In its place are more fragmented 

environments, often devoid of the

influence of paternal role models, 

which are so important in the 

development of the male identity.

Feminist opinion-formers in 

politics, education, the law and 

especially in the media are not 

seeking a comapact between the 

sexes, but female preferment, in 

the form of positive discrimination. 

The impact of the corrosive influence 

that the feminist lobby has had on 

female attitudes to men has been 

profound.

In education, where only 12% of 

primary school teachers are male, 

the predominantly female culture 

cannot, nor in many cases would 

it seek to, encourage the 

development of the male identity 

as such. 

Female characteristics are seen as 

good, male as bad. Many male 

graduates are put off teaching 

by the threat of being falsely 

accused of improper behaviour, 

the consequences of which are 

often devastating. 

Gender bias continues into 

secondary education. Some ten 

years' ago, Jenny Murray, presenter 

of the BBC Woman's Hour, asked 

a guest why boys outperformed girls 

in GCSEs. She was told that boys 

responded better to the pressure of 

an examination, whereas girls 

preferred coursework.

Murray's reply was that if that was 

the system, then change it. It was 

and the result of less rigour has 

undermined the credibility of the

examination system in schools and 

further up the learning process in

higher education. 

This creates the backgound for the

the root causes of many of the 

chronic social problems relating to 

young men. They leave school with 

inferior qualifications, poorer job 

prospects and face unemployment. 

Dismissed as potential husbands, 

fathers and providers by young 

women who are supported by the 

state, they feel unwanted and 

express growing anger. 

Greater tolerance in society for 

generalised 'men are useless' 

statements, jokes, advertisements 

and so on, than would be used to 

refer to any other group, reflects a 

situation for which there is an 

increasing human and economic 

cost. 

Nothing less than fundamental change is needed in order to bring NHS spending
under control. The results of your poll showing that the public is willing to pay
higher taxes in support of further funding is well intentioned, but merely a
re-statement of Gresham's Law: Good money after bad. The NHS does a superlative
job attempting to do the manifestly impossible: providing a world-class health
service to all, on demand, from taxation and borrowed money. It is against the
background of an ageing population and those who believe that there is an off-the-shelf solution to every medical problem, cost of increasingly sophisticated treatments and a large and complex organisation, employing over 1.25m which, as previous
re-organisations have shown, is extremely resistant to change.

Sixteen million patients began NHS treatment last year, up over 5.1% on the previous
12 months. When Beveridge set up the NHS in 1948, his assumption was that it
would pay for itself by improving the health of the nation.This Panglossian notion
is now far removed from reality, as never before. An alternative  model must be
developed, perhaps based on more successful healthcare systems in other countries,
such as a combination of public and private provision. The sacred cow's days are
clearly numbered, especially when it appears that, in terms of process, the UK is
an international leader in healthcare, while outcomes - the number of patients kept
alive - reveals a more pessimistic picture.

Corbyn's Fools' Paradise

Welcome to the weird world of Jeremy Corbyn and his intended reincarnation of 1950s'- style Soviet Russia. Go ahead and smile dismissively if you will, but consider the economic illiteracy of the politics he espouses. Without exception, it is a history of false promises built on a sea of debt. An example is his promise to cancel all student loans running at £100bn. How would this money be found? From investors in the international bond market? With the national debt running at £1.9 trillion, more than the total value of the goods and services we produce, I think not.
Or, perhaps, he would simply print more money, producing
the kind of hyperinflation experienced in Germany's Weimar Republic where the value of money halved every few hours.
Corbyn's fools' paradise could be just a vote away at an early general election, as could the kind of soup-kitchen queues at government food distribution centres shown in the photograph.

ROBOTIC THERESA

The accelerating impact of robots on our way of life is there for all to see. Why we
even have one running the country. Developed using the latest driverless-car 
technology, it is, of course, female with a nervous laugh and lifelike facial
expressions. Theresa's computer-activated voice is wowing voters up and down
the country with such spellbinding phrases as "strength and stability" and strong
stable family" and "we'll build a better Britain, not just for the privileged few".
You can bet that the Tory manifesto will contain further evidence of Lynton
Crosby's creative genius, in order to convince voters that a landslide is needed
to implement Labour's left-wing manifesto.