Older workers currently occupying these exact roles were often hired with no qualifications at all; they walked into a local business, “shook hands, and got the job,” without an interview, without a CV and often without even having finished formal education. Now, corporations demand a Bachelor’s degree for a job that is considered “entry-level,”
The Pensana case is an irrefutable indictment of a system where short-term political inertia and geographic bias systematically override long-term national security and economic resilience. It is a clear example of the slow, self-wrought decline that results from mistaking a gesture for an investment, and a democracy’s inability to overcome its own structural failings.
Westminster, through its highly centralized model of governance, has adopted a set of behaviors that uncannily mirrors the “rules for rulers” outlined in the handbook. By controlling the flow of resources, selectively investing in infrastructure, and hollowing out local institutions, the UK governmentâregardless of which party is in powerâis effectively propagating a dictatorial approach rather than upholding the free democracy it claims to represent.
The Golden Age of Piracy was a radical, self-governing alternative to the exploitative and life-threatening conditions of the British Royal Navy and merchant fleets. Life aboard a naval ship was brutal, with harsh discipline, low wages, and a high risk of death or injury with no compensation.
The allocation of the UK’s Global Talent Fund (GTF) stands as a recent and compelling illustration of a much larger, systemic issue within UK policy: persistent regional inequality. Far from being an isolated administrative oversight, the GTF decision serves as a potent case study, revealing deeper patterns of uneven investment and opportunity distribution that disproportionately impact regions such as the North of England and, specifically, Yorkshire.
I do not feel English. I feel like a Northerner. This is a region with a distinct identity, and its ancient kingdom of Northumbria still seems to pull the overwhelming majority of the weight in the UK’s economy. Yet, everywhere you look, it gets shafted by the central government. Most of all, I feel distinctly like a Yorkshireman.
The danger of the “nothing to hide” myth has been amplified in the age of data. With the sheer volume of personal data collected by companies and governments, even seemingly innocuous information can become dangerous when aggregated.
What if our disengagement is not an accident, but a deliberate act of design? The truth is, the most important topicsâthe ones that shape our lives and societyâare often relegated to the shadows because the powerful have a vested interest in our apathy.
The path to a better future doesn’t start with a conspiracy theory. It begins with the courage to look past the easy narrative of evil geniuses and to hold our leaders accountable not for their presumed malevolence, but for their undeniable incompetence.
The Northern Powerhouse was an idea; now we have the data to judge its implementation. It is time to learn from its shortcomings, to listen to the voices of Yorkshire, and to demand a new path forward.
