I was never the biggest fan of David Cameron’s. I didn’t dislike him either – I just felt he prized party unity over the hard yards his modernisation project needed if he was to have done it in real earnest. I always thought the Coalition provided him with the opportunity to redefine the Tories as […]
Archives for July 2016
The Brexit process looks like it will be a nightmare – particularly for the Tories
In the midst of everything happening around a meeting of Labour’s national executive committee regarding the future of Jeremy Corbyn (which didn’t go so well), there were some interesting bits of Brexit related news yesterday. Martin Schultz, the president of the European Parliament, wrote an interesting article in the Guardian. In it, he comes across as […]
The flight of the Brexiteers
When I try and think of what the lasting image of the EU referendum might be, I will hazard a prediction (very dangerous these days – I was convinced Andrea Leadsom was going to be prime minister of the country only yesterday morning) that it could well be the slapped arse faces of Boris Johnson […]
Now that Angela Eagle has challenged Corbyn, we may see just how ugly the far-left can get
So finally, it’s on. Corbyn wouldn’t submit to parliamentary pressure and so Angela Eagle was forced to formally challenge him. Jeremy himself went on Marr to talk about it over the weekend where he displayed no discomfort whatsoever. It seems clear that whatever happens he is going to win by his own measure. Either the […]
Could David Miliband re-enter British politics this clever way?
I wish to preface this article with the statement that everything you are about to read is simply conjecture. I have no inside knowledge as to whether any of this is a possibility or not. This, in other words, is just a scenario I have completely made up. But it is a possible one, and a fascinating […]
Leadsom really could be our next prime minister now
I know you have every right to disregard me on this topic given I said Michael Gove was a sure fire bet to be our next prime minister. I will only retort that I figured there would have to be a Brexiter in the final two and that the parliamentary Conservative party would realise that […]
UKIP led by Paul Nuttall could be bigger than any of you are imagining
Everything is on a plate for UKIP at the moment. Actually, from the moment Cameron promised to hold an EU referendum, it always was. If we had voted to Remain, UKIP could have mopped up the disaffected, particularly the ex-Labour voters. As it stands, the prize they could grab could be much, much bigger now […]
The Chilcot report was the last thing the Labour Party needed at the moment
Labour, it is fair to say, is having some problems at present. Bitter infighting, a leader who has decided that parliamentary democracy and the rules that go with it are not his cup of tea, talk of a split – why not throw in the launch of a long awaited report on the Iraq war […]
Despite of all of the rhetoric, there still could be a general election soon enough
One of the mainstays of each of the Tory candidates for prime minister has been a vocal ruling out of a general election any time soon. Labour in particular, but everyone one else for that matter, should be aware that not only does this not mean that there won’t be another general election sometime in the […]
We need experience to get us out of this mess – this is no time for Leadsom
I met Andrea Leadsom for a meeting once. I had arranged it with her on a policy topic I can’t now recall, and was delighted when she agreed. Her very tall researcher picked me up from Central Hall and took me into the Commons. He was charming and I felt relaxed about the meeting ahead. Until […]