The Joy of Six 1068

"It’s subversive of constitutional democracy. It’s peddled by wealthy and privileged people to discredit reasoned government and distract the disadvantaged. Populism is a powerful poison, with the potential to kill off liberal democracy." William Wallace says we need to work harder to dispel the right-wing myth that Britain has a "liberal elite".

"Outsourcing has ... broken the link between care and local communities, with thousands of children in care sent to live many miles from their families and friends because no local homes are available. Companies maximise returns by locating their business where homes are cheapest - not where children need them." Martin Barrow on the many dangers of allowing private companies to look after children in public care.

Emma John finds that the South Asian Cricket Academy has already shown why it was needed: "The Academy was born out of a conversation between Kabir Ali, the former England all-rounder, and his club teammate Tom Brown, the Birmingham City University researcher whose work revealed that while British Asians make up 30% of the recreational game in England, they constitute only 5% of professional cricketers."

East West Rail, the project to restore direct services between Oxford to Cambridge, is under threat, reports Greg Pitcher.

"The Third Policeman is the perfect philosophical novel and you must read it," says Clare Moriarty.

A London Inheritance tales us on a journey into the city's past: "If you walk past 193 and 195 King’s Cross Road, take a detour into St. Chad’s Place. Walk up to Gray’s Inn Road and you will cross the River Fleet, the original Metropolitan Railway and the site of St. Chad’s Well – not bad for a couple of minutes walk. And with some imagination, perhaps you will also see the waters of St. Chad’s Well still running beneath a small, four hole grating."