With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass

THAT most famous anti-monarchist and defender to the death of democracy and meritocracy, Thomas Paine, was not a man who was minded to pull any punches when it came to his excoriation of the existence of a hereditary monarchy:
“Kings succeed each other, not as rationals, but as animals. It signifies not what their mental or moral characters are. Can we then be surprised at the abject state of the human mind in monarchical countries, when the government itself is formed on such an abject levelling system?”
Over £100 million of taxpayers’ money is being spent, but not on feeding the hungry or housing the homeless, of which there are millions across a land whose apologists never miss an opportunity to wave their Union Jacks while boasting that Brexit has made Britain great again.

JOHN WIGHT previews the much-anticipated bout between Benn and Eubank Jnr where — unlike the fights between their fathers — spectacle has reigned over substance


