Here is a political lesson progressives need to learn, and fast: British pubs are crucial | Simon Jenkins
Politics has recklessly downplayed the significance of the local inn, but the hard right has cottoned on – and its opponents better follow suitNigel Farage thinks poor families should be...
By Simon Jenkins · The Guardian Opinion
Politics has recklessly downplayed the significance of the local inn, but the hard right has cottoned on – and its opponents better follow suit Nigel Farage thinks poor families should be denied benefits and the cash go to their local pub . When he runs the country, he says, he will cut child benefit for those with more than two children and switch the £3bn saved to keep down the price of beer . The art of populism lies in headlines. It is about the way you tell it. Farage also says he would still give benefits to “ British working families ”, meaning about 3,700 households with two British-born parents who both work full-time. It seems a gratuitous discrimination. As for cutting VAT on pubs to 10%, it would apply not just to pubs but to the entire hospitality sector. It was for effect that he decided to make the announcement in a pub rather than McDonald’s. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist and the author of A Short History of America: From Tea Party to Trump Continue reading...