Got back from Brighton yesterday, having experienced a Labour conference that wasn’t really all that different to ones I’d experienced in the past (as I wrote yesterday). It felt like a simple continuation of the Ed Miliband years in most respects: a feeling that the Labour Party is getting smaller each year it is out […]
Archives for September 2015
Labour conference, 2015: Brighton, Jeremy Corbyn style
First up: thanks go to Mother Nature for kindly obliging with the weather. Any conference in Brighton (and I’ve been to my share) is lovely if you’re experiencing it in the context of an Indian summer – it’s less pleasant when you’re trying to get back to your hotel room in Hove whilst rain and […]
How the Tories not getting a majority in 2010 set them up to dominate: an alternative reality
Imagine an alternative universe in which the following two things happened in May 2010: the Tories ended up after the general election with a tiny parliamentary majority (think the one they have now) and the Lib Dems did much better than they ended up doing (think three figure number of seats, as was confidently predicted […]
Whatever happens at Labour conference this year, it will be an improvement on the last one almost guaranteed
Some Labour people have speculated to me that this year’s conference in Brighton could be ugly not just in terms of atmosphere, but could actually become downright violent. I think the association is with the 80’s when Labour conference actually could be physically intimidating (apparently – I’m not that old). I think they’re over-egging the […]
The person who will lead the Tories into the next general election will most likely be…..
Speculation mounts as to who will be the next leader of the Conservative Party. Most think Osborne has it in the bag; others think (or fear) some outsider, possibly from the right of the party, could snatch it away from the chancellor. However, upon reflection, I think the person most likely to lead them into […]
In praise of Tom Watson
As a man who has in the recent past compared the current Deputy Leader of the Labour Party to Stalin, you may have been surprised to read that headline. But with the dust settling on Corbyn’s leadership, while elements of what Watson is looking to achieve may not entirely be my cup of tea, I […]
The Left needs to be more careful about labelling people Tories
Throughout the prolonged and ultimately ugly Labour leadership contest, a line in the sand was crossed that will be difficult to roll back from again. Those on the left of the party went beyond using the word “Blairite” in a pejorative sense for those on the right they disagreed with and began using the “T” […]
What is the future of political parties?
Last night at 6:15, I chaired an event at Lib Dem conference with Tim Bale, Paul Webb, Mark Pack and Tessa Munt on the topic of political party membership as it stands and where it looks like it’s headed. We learned a lot of interesting facts (UKIP voters see themselves as less right-wing on a […]
How will Ashcroft’s book affect the rest of Cameron’s premiership?
If you are involved in politics at all, then you will have spent some part of your waking life over the last few days on social media either reading or inventing ham and bacon related puns and/or general gags. My favourite so far has been the infamous Ed Miliband bacon sandwich picture accompanied by the […]
The left of Labour will already be planning for the post-Corbyn era
The spotlight moves a little away from Jeremy Corbyn this week as a result of Lib Dem conference and Ashcroft’s allegation concerning the prime minister’s pig related activities – but Labour conference starts in Brighton five days from now resulting in more coverage of Corbyn than ever. He’s turned down Marr twice now – no mass […]