In the wake of the whole Nissan thing, we’ve had Labour asking for transparency on “the deal” and Nigel Farage, predictably, crowing about how the dreaded “political elites” are going to “betray Brexit” by keeping the UK in the European customs union. While I applaud Labour asking about the Nissan deal in the abstract, it […]
Archives for October 2016
Why I wish there was a pro-Heathrow candidate standing in Richmond Park
I suppose I shouldn’t care so much about this given I don’t live in Richmond, but I wish there was a pro-Heathrow candidate standing in the by election, now to be held on December 1st. It feels wrong that there isn’t. Labour could do the honourable thing and run a pro-Heathrow candidate. There are plenty […]
Corbyn decides to be the leader of the opposition at long last
Okay, credit where credit is due here: Jeremy Corbyn was very good at PMQS yesterday, while Theresa May was genuinely awful. I never thought I’d type that sentence but here we are. Of course, it was mostly because Corbyn went after her on Brexit, easily her least favourite topic of discussion, finally, finally doing so […]
Why Theresa May’s decision to not run a candidate in Richmond is profoundly stupid
For those who have not yet heard, Zac Goldsmith has resigned as MP for Richmond Park over the government’s announcement that Heathrow airport will be allowed to expand capacity. After a rather tepid speech in the House, all things considered, Zac said he would quit and thus a by-election would be held. In which he would run […]
The Heathrow problem and how it may foreshadow Brexit
The decision to approve Heathrow airport has been “taken” by the government. The reason for the quotations in the last sentence is what has me worried – not about airport expansion but rather about Brexit. The cabinet has decided as a whole that Heathrow should be allowed to expand. Only there is apparently still a long […]
Does the Brexit process pose an unavoidable constitutional crisis?
The answer is probably. There are ways in which Brexit avoids extreme constitutional difficulties, but they are becoming trickier to spot. First there is the nations problem. This has been overplayed in the media, but is still a real issue. Putting aside Scottish independence concerns, it appears that it’s already nailed on that Northern Ireland […]
This was the problem with the EU referendum – and how that problem led us to where we are now
There’s been a lot of talk about the nature of democracy of late in Britain. It has been shaped by the idea that to oppose the referendum result is inherently undemocratic – it’s the will of the people, goddamnit, is heard a lot now, particularly from the Conservative side of the House. What it has […]
What does coming in second in Witney actually mean for the Lib Dems?
I have been striking a note of caution for a while now about the potential for the Lib Dems to rise from the ashes. Local by-election results have been seized upon by both Lib Dem supporters and detractors as proof of the party being born again – I have been less convinced. Despite the Brexit […]
Why liberals shouldn’t cheer the death of UKIP too much
It is looking increasingly desperate for UKIP. Despite protestations from Farage to the contrary, UKIP appear to be financially insolvent. Political parties often carry debts higher than the man on the street might think, but UKIP’s problem is that they’ve just been through a series of shambolic incidents that has dented their credibility massively, while […]
The isolation of the Cameroons may end up being Theresa May’s undoing
Many in the Cameron camp thought that May would be the continuity candidate. Sure, she’d have to give a lot of jobs to Eurosceptics in the wake of the Leave vote, but it would be a show of reconciliation from within the same basic camp within the Tory party. But that is not how it […]