Anyone who isn’t part of the Church of Jeremy will conclude that the Labour general election campaign has got off to a bad start. The day the election was called by May, I did up a Labour election bingo card. Every single event I predicted then has already taken place, and parliament hasn’t even been dissolved yet: […]
Archives for April 2017
Why Zac running in Richmond Park is such a bonus for the Lib Dems
Zac Goldsmith has been selected as the Tory candidate for Richmond Park for the 2017 general election. I think if anyone other than Zac had run there, the Tories would have had a very good chance of retaking this seat. As it stands, I think the Lib Dems will hold it, just. The reason for […]
I really, really don’t understand what Labour’s policy on Brexit is
Keir Starmer, the shadow secretary for leaving the EU, gave a speech yesterday that was meant to clear the air on what Labour’s election policy on Brexit really, actually in fact is. Of course, it only led to more confusion. I work in public policy in Westminster. I work in public policy specifically on Brexit […]
If Nuttall doesn’t stand in a seat at this election, UKIP should just disband quietly
It is fair to say that things have not gone well for UKIP so far in this nascent general election campaign. The pledge to medically check girls for FGM seems to have gone over rather less well than they had hoped, to put things mildly; polling suggests strongly that their vote is melting into the […]
I have to admit that the Lib Dems start to this election campaign has been very good. Here’s exactly how
Some have said – mostly Lib Dems – that I’ve been a bit harsh on the party Peter Bone likes to describe as the “yellow peril”. That in the midst of #libdemfightback and the retaking of local seats, I’ve refused to be moved in regards to the rebirth of Lib Demery post-2015. The latest example […]
A tour around the Balkans – part two
I’m really, really glad I’ve been to Montenegro. For a start, it is a visually incredible place, the mountains against the sea even more stark than in neighbouring Croatia. On a personal level, my general anxiety level decreased massively over the four days I spent in the country. However, first impressions of the place were […]
A tour around the Balkans – part one
I spent my Easter break travelling around Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Hercegovina. What I learned from my tour around the Balkans I think is interesting enough to relate to you all, and I want to do it while the impressions are fresh. For a start Croatia and Montenegro, but particularly Croatia as it is already […]
After the general election, liberals will have to begin to think about post-Brexit Britain in earnest
I wanted the country to vote Remain last year. I wrote about why I thought it would be a good idea at length. Alas, the country voted differently. This election gives the Lib Dems, a party campaigning on a second referendum (what amounts to an ability to block Brexit from occurring), a chance to gain […]
A lot of Labour voters in the north, Midlands and Wales won’t vote Tory. They’ll do this instead
The debate rages on in Westminster: will we see a large victory for the Conservatives come June 8th, or a massive one? A lot of Tories are cautious and seem to feel it will be the former – which only makes me think the latter more likely given they won’t be taking anything for granted. […]
Corbyn’s one move from yesterday which demonstrates how bad June 8th will be for Labour
Yesterday, I predicted mayhem for Labour, with the party looking to do worse than many pundits expect, ending up on between 100-120 seats overall. As if this prediction wasn’t bad enough, it might turn out in the end to be too rosy. This is due to the fact that one of Corbyn’s first thoughts after […]