They discuss the debate around the Church of England’s push towards reparations, and how initiatives like Project Spire and the historical link to Queen Anne’s Bounty have played a role in where we have ended up today.

Many of the assumptions behind reparations, such as Britain’s wealth being built on slavery, are historically dubious. Crucially, if we started handing out reparations now, would the calls for them ever end? While forgiveness is at the heart of Christian values, is there really a moral case for reparations in the 21st century?

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They discuss the debate around the Church of England’s push towards reparations, and how initiatives like Project Spire and the historical link to Queen Anne’s Bounty have played a role in where we have ended up today.

Many of the assumptions behind reparations, such as Britain’s wealth being built on slavery, are historically dubious. Crucially, if we started handing out reparations now, would the calls for them ever end? While forgiveness is at the heart of Christian values, is there really a moral case for reparations in the 21st century?

For the full, uncensored version, go to: https://www.outpoststudios.net/s/the-critic-show

And don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

Whilst there are valiant figures like Mark Rowley and Stephen Watson, their attempts at change in a world dominated by fear of activists are unlikely to be adopted by forces nationwide.

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This month, there’s a bright, lively white Coteaux Bourguignons, Le P’tit Bonheur, that punches far above its station, an opulent and characterful Bourgogne Épineuil Léger with a wonderful backstory, and a richer, more structured Domaine Gachot-Monot Côte de Nuits-Villages that delivers proper red Burgundy depth for a remarkably modest sum. There is, though, a slight note of melancholy hanging over the tasting. After severe flooding at his Monmouth shop and with retirement looming, Tom is no longer shipping new stock, which means that once these bottles are gone, they are gone. A rare chance, then, to buy from one …

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This month, there’s a bright, lively white Coteaux Bourguignons, Le P’tit Bonheur, that punches far above its station, an opulent and characterful Bourgogne Épineuil Léger with a wonderful backstory, and a richer, more structured Domaine Gachot-Monot Côte de Nuits-Villages that delivers proper red Burgundy depth for a remarkably modest sum. There is, though, a slight note of melancholy hanging over the tasting. After severe flooding at his Monmouth shop and with retirement looming, Tom is no longer shipping new stock, which means that once these bottles are gone, they are gone. A rare chance, then, to buy from one of Burgundy’s great independent romantics while there is still wine left in the cellar.

If you’d like a mixed case with two bottles of each featured in the episode, follow the link below:

https://thecritic.co.uk/wine-club/

For the full show, please subscribe to Outpost via the link below:

https://www.outpoststudios.net/s/the-critic-show

The flip side, of course, is the Spanish right, the growth of Vox, and the wider forces driving political radicalisation. Right-wing parties are gaining ground in Spain, yet, as is his strategy, this polarisation may be good news for Sánchez.

As Spain still struggles with the legacy of Franco, how do its shifting class and regional divides shape voting behaviour, and what does that mean for a fragmenting political system, both in Spain and beyond?

For the full episode, follow the link below:

https://www.outpoststu…

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The flip side, of course, is the Spanish right, the growth of Vox, and the wider forces driving political radicalisation. Right-wing parties are gaining ground in Spain, yet, as is his strategy, this polarisation may be good news for Sanchez.

As Spain still struggles with the legacy of Franco, how do its shifting class and regional divides shape voting behaviour, and what does that mean for a fragmenting political system, both in Spain and beyond?

For the full episode, follow the link below:

https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/how-the-spanish-left-uses-the-right-65a

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Chris unpacks his latest article on green energy, asking why electricity remains expensive if renewables are meant to be cheap. There is widespread misunderstanding of how the national grid actually functions and, as a result, serious discussion is all but impossible.

This month, Tom spoke to Neil O’Brien, the Conservative Party’s policy brain, about how data can inform lawmaking. While he is a dedicated, intelligent and practical figure, is well-argued policy enough to define the broader Conservative philosophy? Or is the party still stuck in the politics of bans?

As is so often the case, any discussion of Tory policy inevitably speaks to the Conservatives’ struggle to regain public trust, with lingering damage from the Brexit era and the missed opportunities of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak. While the party is not finished, the path back to power is steep.

The team also touch on land use and farming policy, and a new essay by Dominic Green, which traces the arc of Western civilisation and explores how different political traditions, particularly on the American right, compete to define what “civilisation” really means.

We hope you enjoyed this episode, and make sure to subscribe to Outpost so you never miss an episode of The Critic Show.

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Chris and Tom suggest the deeper problem is that the modern left struggles to face political realities. Moral questions are often treated as substitutes for practical ones, leaving basic policy problems unanswered. By focusing on signalling the right values rather than addressing difficult trade-offs, the left often ends up asking the wrong questions altogether. They also look ahead and predict how the left may eventually have to choose where it stands within an increasingly fragmentary right-wing political structure.

Head to https://www.outpoststudios.net/s/the-critic-show for full access to this episode and more thought-provoking political analysis.

Chris and Tom suggest the deeper problem is that the modern left struggles to face political realities. Moral questions are often treated as substitutes for practical ones, leaving basic policy problems unanswered. By focusing on signalling the right values rather than addressing difficult trade-offs, the left often ends up asking the wrong questions altogether. They also look ahead and predict how the left may eventually have to choose where it stands within an increasingly fragmentary right-wing political structure.

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Without its people explicitly voting for it, Britain has drifted into a high-tax, high-transfer system, with little to show in terms of infrastructure or service quality. Once a “temporary” tax is introduced, it is rarely retired.

As Tom points out, a welfare system designed around personal benefit and vote-winning is politically unsustainable. Chris traces the rot to the managerial politics of the mid-1990s, where presentation overtook reform. As the state dominates ever more in the lives of its citizens, personal responsibility becomes an ever more alien idea. The statistics may be imperfect, but the trend is worrying. Britain needs serious structural reform.

Head to https://www.outpoststudios.net/s/the-critic-show for full access to this episode, and more thought-provoking political analysis.

Without its people explicitly voting for it, Britain has drifted into a high-tax, high-transfer system, with little to show in terms of infrastructure or service quality. Once a “temporary” tax is introduced, it is rarely retied.

As Tom points out, a welfare system designed around personal benefit and vote-winning is politically unsustainable. Chris traces the rot to the managerial politics of the mid-1990s, where presentation overtook reform. As the state dominates ever more in the lives of its subjects, personal responsibility becomes an ever more alien idea. The statistics may be imperfec…

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As theLabour coalition of immigrants and the working class, which it has depended upon for decades, fragments and new parties seek to mobilise voters along cultural and demographic lines, politics risks drifting toward an informal “ethnic headcount”, where identity can matter as much as, if not more than, policy.

Is modern mainland British politics becoming more like that of Northern Ireland, or even reminiscent of Balkans and the Middle East? And, when established, are such dynamics self-reinforcing? If in-group preference becomes a normal organising principle, can liberal, cross-community politics can be sustained? What do we really need to prevent permanent political fragmentation?

For the full, uncensored episode, go to:

https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/the-sectarian-state

Next week: Chris and Tom turn their attention to the British Welfare State.

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As theLabour coalition of immigrants and the working class, which it has depended upon for decades, fragments and new parties seek to mobilise voters along cultural and demographic lines, politics risks drifting toward an informal “ethnic headcount”, where identity can matter as much as, if not more than, policy.

Is modern mainland British politics becoming more like that of Northern Ireland, or even reminiscent of Balkans and the Middle East? And, when established, are suck dynamics self-reinforcing? If in-group preference becomes a normal organising principle, can liberal, cross-community politics can be sustained? What do we really need to prevent permanent political fragmentation?

Next week: Chris and Tom turn their attention to the British Welfare State.

Thank you for subscribing to Outpost.

.

Voters themselves, fed up with years of betrayal are turning to Reform, while the Conservatives lash out at their populist challengers. Fiscal discipline is still invoked, but many doubt the party can follow through on its promises. The gap between Westminster and provincial Britain is widening, especially on touchstone issues like immigration and crime.

Brexit once channelled a rebellious mood; that energy has moved on. If the Conservatives no longer set the terms of the right, are they still a leader, or just another fringe player, trading on the legacy of the past?

Subscribers can listen to or watch the full uncensored episode here:

https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/who-are-the-tories-full

Subscribers get access to full versions of The Critic Show, alongside the wider Outpost slate of podcasts and documentaries.

Subscribe now at www.outpoststudios.net

Voters themselves, fed up with years of betrayal are turning to Reform, while the Conservatives lash out at their populist challengers. Fiscal discipline is still invoked, but many doubt the party can follow through on its promises. The gap between Westminster and provincial Britain is widening, especially on touchstone issues like immigration and crime.

Brexit once channelled a rebellious mood; that energy has moved on. If the Conservatives no longer set the terms of …

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But who benefits from this fragmentation? Can the Greens turn local strength into real gains, or will they remain influential but limited? If Reform consolidates its insurgent vote, tactical voting could reshape key seats. With Labour under strain in parts of its base and smaller parties sensing opportunity, Chris and Fleur ask whether Britain is moving into a genuinely multi-party era, and what that means as the protest vote becomes a means of tangible political power.

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They also discuss the personal cost of working so closely with trauma, as well as the practical barriers Open Justice has faced, much the same as those that allowed abuse to happen in the first place, from the secrecy afforded to offenders to the way exploitation of the infrastructure of the small towns that make up England’s former industrial heartlands

Yet, in spite of the horrific legacy of these crimes, the pressure created by survivor-led initiatives is beginning to force institutions to listen, raising the central question of the inquiry: how Britain’s institutions, which failed to protect vulnerable young women, can be forced to do better.

For subscribers, you can listen to or watch the full, uncensored episode via the link below:

https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/the-critic-show-special-open-justice

Subscribe now at www.outpoststudios.net

They also discuss the personal cost of working so closely with trauma, as well as the practical barriers Open Justice has faced, much the same as those that allowed abuse to happen in the first place, from the secrecy afforded to offenders to the way exploitation of the infrastructure of the small towns that make up England’s former industrial heartlands

Yet, in spite of the horrific legacy of these crimes, the pres…

Read more