Author: Peter Burke
Peter was born in Dublin, of Irish and German heritage. He came to England for a year in 1982, and, having decided he liked working in the NHS, never got round to going back. He has worked in Oxford as a GP for the past 30 years, latterly very part-time. He is a senior clinical lecturer at Oxford University, where he teaches communication skills to medical students, and he is a GP appraiser and examiner. He has 3 children, living in Oxford, Leipzig and Hollywood, and 3 grandchildren. He loves England and sees it as home, as it is where is where he and his wife Geraldine watched their children grow up. However he is deeply saddened by developments since 2016, in particular the simultaneous threats to democracy and to the economy. He is eager to help the cause of continuing collaboration with our EU neighbours, and is currently Chair of Oxford for Europe.
A Vacuum of Integrity
It gives no pleasure to witness integrity and professionalism being treated as an optional extra by those in power. Dominic Cummings: ‘It is sad to see the PM and his office fall so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves.’ Lord Kerslake, former head of civil service: ‘The level of toxicity […]
No Way To Start A trade War
Despite all the screamingly obvious evidence to the contrary, most of us hoped that by some miracle Brexit would turn out well. We still live in hope, but the chances are diminishing by the day. Some of what is happening was foreseeable, and some goes even further than the worst predictions of “project fear”
A Touch of Frost
With effect from 1 March 2021 the newly-ennobled Lord David Frost stepped into the role of UK Chair of the Partnership Council. He therefore enters the Cabinet, and becomes yet another ‘unelected bureaucrat’ at the centre of power. He is there to preside over a difficult new round of negotiations at a time when ministers would […]
We Don’t Want To Spoil You, Mr Ambassador
This is a petty little saga. But what it says about the small-minded, begrudging, arrogant and self-destructive attitudes of this Government is phenomenal.
Kicking At An Open Goal And Missing
At a time like this, just when the profound harm done by Brexit is becoming apparent, the government is leaving an open goal for all the opposition parties. It feels as if Labour, for one, is not even making a serious attempt to kick at this goal
Can this really be the New Normal?
Both fisheries and work permits for musicians are a very small part of the horrendous unfolding Brexit drama. However, they are significant because they are good examples of how gravely a massive cross section of ordinary people have been let down by this government.
When Project Fear became Project Reality
It is truly astonishing to reflect how much more common sense the conservative party of 50 years ago had than that of today.
Giving up what you have for something you never lost
This is the week this Brexit government’s dream came true. It is also the week when their promises are put to the test. If they are found wanting let’s make sure they are held to account.
A Wrecking Ball in the Name of Sovereignty
So Parliament has overwhelmingly passed the EU (Future Relations) Bill. Can we stop talking about Brexit now?
Hell, no.
So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish
As an impoverished Britain flounces away from the greatest missed opportunity in history, the words of Douglas Adams will ring in its ears: “So Long, and thanks for all the fish”
Billy No-Mates
It looks as if the next 2 months will go down in history on both sides of the Atlantic
Business cannot cope with Lockdown and Brexit
An Oxford doctor urges his MP to extend transition. If we cannot agree a “Good” Deal then we must request an extension to the Transition Period.
Transatlantic Tango
The truth is that American voters at this moment probably have more influence over the fate of this country than we do ourselves.
The Damage to UK of a No-Deal will be Titanic
When a major crime is committed in plain sight, it is a very British thing to walk past with a “nothing to see here, let’s move along” look on the face. We simply don’t want to get involved.
Of Starship Captains, Fishing and Small Dogs
“For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across – which happened to be the Earth – where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.”Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide […]
British Medical Association (BMA) calls for opposition to No-Deal Brexit
The BMA confirmed that it viewed a no-deal Brexit as a major threat to the NHS, and to be avoided at all costs. In taking this view it joins many other organisations, including the CBI, the TUC and the NFU.
Britannia waives the rules, but only in a limited and specific way … so that’s alright then!
Our Prime Minister has a record of stupid and unscrupulous decisions. Yet nothing has prepared us for the Internal Market Bill
Asylum: “The inhumanity of this Government’s policies is matched only by their stupidity”
Our society, like all others, consists of waves of migration which have come over many generations and will continue to do so. Let us do what enlightened people around the world have always done, and see them as something which enriches, not impoverishes, our communities.
Playing Russian roulette with our nation’s future…
Dear West England Bylines Recently, we at Oxford For Europe played host via Zoom to Dominic Grieve and Michael Dougan. The main focus of questioners was of course the Russia report, of which Dominic was the principal author. Though at the time he was unable to disclose the contents of the report, he was very […]