I’ve never been less glad to be right about something than I have turned out to be about Trump winning. I, like many of you, are sitting here in a daze, shocked by another terrible election result (something that has become a very familiar feeling). But let’s try and take a deep breath and figure […]
Archives for November 2016
Why I have this sinking feeling that Trump is going to win
Part of the notion that Donald Trump will come out ahead in the electoral college vote comes down to Brexit – I’ll admit that up front. The whole thing feels eerily like the EU referendum, and not just because of Trump’s love of all thing Brexity but rather due to the very similar things we’re all trying to […]
I still don’t understand Labour’s Brexit policy. Here’s my best attempt.
When Keir Starmer was made shadow secretary for Brexit, I was pleased. Finally, Labour would get serious about the topic of our times. Yet while Starmer has been impressive in the House, his appointment has still not been enough to halt confusion in regards to the Labour Party and its approach to Brexit. The most […]
The India immigration demand is a look into Britain’s future
As part of her trip to Delhi, Theresa May has told the press that she will not be making things easier for Indians to get into the UK. “The figures show that we issue more work visas to India than I think US, Australia and China put together. Nine out of 10 visa applications from […]
Why is Julian Assange echoing Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric verbatim?
On the eve of the American presidential election, Julian Assange has conducted an interview with Jonathan Pilger in which he not only attacks Hillary Clinton, but does so sounding a lot like an intellectualised version of Donald Trump. The worst Trumpism he has repeated is that the up coming election will somehow be rigged in […]
If the Supreme Court upholds yesterday’s ruling, it will actually be the best thing imaginable for Theresa May
The government were disappointed by the High Court ruling yesterday that stated parliament needs to be the one to trigger Article 50, not the government via Royal Prerogative. While May needs to make as big a show of disappointment about this in public as possible, in private she may be very glad about the decision […]
How the Left is losing the cultural war, bit by bit
There is a train of thought that says that during the 20th century, the Right won the economic argument – the triumph of capitalism over socialism – while the Left won the social, cultural argument – that liberalism in these spheres won out over social conservatism as we witnessed civil rights, women’s rights, and minority rights […]
My ideas for how the centre-left could regenerate itself in Britain
Just prior to Labour Party conference in Liverpool (and the announcement of the leadership election result), I put out a paper on how the centre-left could regenerate itself once the Corbyn project has played itself out. I decided to revisit it now – this article forms the basis of a brief summary. If you want […]
Why the Richmond Park by-election outcome may actually be important for the Labour Party
Several key Labour figures called for the party not to field a candidate in the Richmond Park by-election, including Lisa Nandy and Clive Lewis. The logic went like this: Labour have no real hope of winning the seat, and by running a candidate they risk splitting the anti-Goldsmith vote and allowing him to win. The […]