The headline, by the way, is in no way meant to imply that I myself tried to register and was denied a vote in the Labour leadership contest. I never attempted to do so. But at the moment, a process known to some as “Operation Icepick”, or #LabourPurge is underway, one that has staffers at […]
Archives for August 2015
What effect will a Corbyn Labour leadership really have on the Lib Dems?
As I wrote yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn being the next leader of the Labour Party, barring some strange unforeseen event, can now be taken as a given. With this in mind, what effect will this have on the Liberal Democrats? There are two distinct strains of thought on this. The first is that Labour veering to […]
The Burnham-Cooper war is a phoney one. Corbyn has already won and they both know it
A battle of words erupted yesterday between the Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper campaigns. “If he isn’t prepared to offer an alternative to Jeremy, he needs to step back and leave it to Yvette,” said Team Cooper. “Yvette’s stunt is panicked, desperate and straight out of the Ed Balls handbook,” said Team Andy. Ouch. But it’s okay because […]
Does Ed Miliband need to say something about the leadership contest?
With Gordon Brown now having weighed in on the subject of who should be the next Labour leader (in a carefully worded speech that never once used the words “Jeremy” or “Corbyn”, but nonetheless could not have been referring to anyone else throughout), and David Miliband having given his own barnstorming speech on the matter […]
The Corbyn cyber trolls are helping dig their own party’s grave
The cybernats were a major feature of both the Scottish independence referendum and the general election. I am speaking here of SNP supporters who would take to all forms of social media, once there denouncing anyone who didn’t feel and think exactly the same way they did as a “traitor” or worse, a “Tory”. Not […]
Will a Corbyn victory mean the end of the Green Party?
“The best news of all? A Corbyn win will be the death of the Green Party. Hooray.” – Nigel Farage This slice of wisdom, the born again UKIP leader delivered unto the readers of Breibart this week. The article was the usual Farage gumbo of liberal baiting and anti-EU polemics but I have to admit, he […]
Could Tom Watson be Stalin to Jeremy Corbyn’s Trotsky?
Once Jeremy Corbyn becomes leader of the Labour Party (let’s just stop saying “if”, shall we?), he’s going to face the problem that confronts all socialist leaders at some point: it’s all going to go horribly pear-shaped as reality sets in. His party won’t listen to the serial rebel, and a strange bond in the […]
Could this be how David Miliband ultimately returns to British politics?
Let’s say Jeremy Corbyn wins on September 12th. It’s starting to possibly even look like a given, with the rumours circulating that some betting shops are considering stopping taking punts on the subject (just a rumour mind you, but that’s the way these things start). There will be miles of speculation about what happens to […]
Why Rob Blackie deserves your vote for the London Assembly
I don’t normally do this (in fact, I’ve never done this before), but I thought I’d tell you why I think you should vote for Rob Blackie to represent the Lib Dems at next May’s London elections for the London Assembly (obviously this only applies to those who are LD inclined). I guess the reason […]
What kind of closure on Iraq do we expect from Chilcot anyway?
When Gordon Brown announced the Chilcot Inquiry to the House in 2009, he said it would take a year to complete. He was roundly mocked by the opposition benches. Time has proven those Tories spot on; here we are, six years later, with not only no final report but nothing in sight in terms of […]