Blogs Don't Burn

July 9, 2026

Russia’s squeeze on Armenian goods could open a valuable new trade route for Britain

This OpEd was published in Parliament Politics Magazine on 1st July 2026

In response to Armenia’s gradual turn towards Europe, Russia has reached for a familiar page in the old Kremlin playbook.

In the run-up to Armenia’s parliamentary election on 7 June, which returned pro-European Nikol Pashinyan to office, Moscow ratcheted up pressure on Yerevan by seeking to make its people poorer. Its target was trade. Overnight Russia banned the import of Armenian flowers, apricots, mineral water, wine, brandy and other agricultural goods, and threatened deeper restrictions if Yerevan had the gall to continue its westward drift.

January 5, 2026January 5, 2026

The UK’s ‘European Reset’ Must Include The South Caucasus

This OpEd was published in Europinion on 21st December 2025

As the Prime Minister looks to inaugurate a “new era” in his country’s relationship with Europe, his task is not only to repair pre-existing bonds, but also to open new avenues that support his ambitions for greater British influence abroad and economic growth at home. In this context, the South Caucasus – comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – deserves far more attention than it has traditionally received in Westminster.

January 29, 2025January 29, 2025

Anti-science paranoia is creeping onto our shelves

This OpEd was published in Comment Central on 15th January, 2025

In the modern West, everyone knows that ‘natural’ means good and ‘artificial’ means bad. End of story. It is a mindset that has been drilled into us for all sorts of products; from food, to cosmetics, household products, or even energy. The basic idea is that anything created in a lab (or by other science-based methods) is by definition synthetic, polluting and unhealthy.

In contrast, so-called ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ products are depicted as fundamentally healthier and cleaner than their synthetic counterparts. Simultaneously closer to nature and less of a burden on the natural world, they are sold as a kind of lifestyle cure-all – a way to save the planet while treating our body like a mountain temple.

May 21, 2024

Our universities are failing to tackle student antisemitism

This OpEd was published in CapX on 21st May, 2024

Earlier this month, university leaders from around the country were summoned to Downing Street to discuss the recent explosion of antisemitism on UK campuses, which has been so extreme that the Community Security Trust (CST) labelled it a ‘watershed moment for antisemitism in the UK’.

Unfortunately, despite strong statements from the government that this newest revival of the world’s oldest hatred will not be tolerated, many of the solutions being proposed lack real teeth. If policymakers really want to make an impact on campus antisemitism, they should start naming and shaming those universities which are doing the least to address the crisis.

May 8, 2024May 12, 2024

It’s time for the UK to acknowledge the Armenian genocide

This OpEd was originally published in Reaction on 8th May, 2024

On 24th April, Armenians around the world gathered to observe Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. At local churches and memorials, they commemorated the 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically killed by Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1923; to this day one of the worst massacres in human history.

Tragically, their pain will be compounded by the ongoing denial and obfuscation of governments across the world, many of whom still refuse to acknowledge it even took place. The UK, for example, has never formally acknowledged the Armenian genocide — and only 33 countries around the world have. Sadly, even the Armenian government itself is beginning to buckle to international pressure, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan telling his people to “overcome [their] trauma.”

April 7, 2024April 7, 2024

A practical and informative ‘Livewell Guide’ is preferable to prohibition

This OpEd was originally published in Comment Central on 21st March, 2024

Health policy in the UK has taken a rather sharp prohibitionist turn in recent years, with the government increasingly willing to stifle the sale of unhealthy products through regulation. Cigarettes and disposable vapes will soon be effectively banned across the country, and crackdowns on junk food and energy drinks may soon follow.

Whilst these attempts to safeguard public health are well-meaning, they are unlikely to achieve lasting behavioural change. Policymakers’ efforts would be better spent making sure people have the requisite knowledge and skills to improve their lifestyles on their own.

April 7, 2024April 7, 2024

Targeted literacy support could help millions of boys struggling at school

This OpEd was originally published in ConservativeHome on 1st February, 2024

A recent study from the University of Cambridge highlights the wide disparity in educational outcomes between boys and girls, an enduring problem which has existed in UK schools for decades. Despite evidence this gap is having a profound impact on the prospects of millions of boys and men, this topic has gone largely unnoticed by policymakers.

The study, which analysed data at all stages of British education, found a consistent trend of “higher female attainment, and higher female participation” at GCSE, A-Level, Higher Education (HE), and even at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) where children are aged four and five.

November 28, 2023November 28, 2023

‘Ghastly Marionettes with Human Faces’ – Hannah Arendt on Totalitarianism

Background: This essay was written in 2019 as part of a master’s degree. It has since been updated to reflect my evolving thoughts on the horrors of totalitarianism, and indeed human evil in general. Whilst the conclusions below are my own, this should be seen more as an illustration of Hannah Arendt’s writings on totalitarianism in the 20th century.

This essay will outline Hannah Arendt’s account of the unprecedented evil of totalitarianism in the 20^th century, with specific focus on the regimes of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. This will be done first by outlining the distinctive nature of totalitarianism, and why it cannot be captured under the conventional categories of moral and political thought. Next, I will unpack the comparison that Arendt makes between common sense and ideological ‘supersense’, which will lead into an attempt to distinguish the radical evil of totalitarianism from more conventional forms of evil.

April 18, 2023

Chronological Snobbery: Present-Elitism and the Teen Age

In The Case Against the Sexual Revolution (2022), feminist author Louise Perry uses a phrase which captures one of the governing spirits of our age: ‘chronological snobbery’. Coined by C.S. Lewis, this term refers to the human tendency to uncritically accept the cultural and intellectual trends of the present, whilst rejecting as ‘outdated’ anything which came before some arbitrary cut-off point.

In essence, this is the ethos of the rebellious teenager run amok: a fiery urge to cast off the stifling rules and mores of the fuddy-duddy elders. This powerful, almost primordial force is a common feature of adolescence, as indeed it should be. Rebellion against authority is a healthy part of our ungainly slouch towards adulthood, provided this Life of Brian-esque chorus of ‘I am an individual’ is artfully managed by society.