Many Remainers were livid with the Tory “rebels” – the Remainer Conservative MPs who had threatened to vote for the Lords’ amendment on a “meaningful” vote on the final Brexit deal – for having in the end voted with the government and defeated the amendment last night. I am not asking any of you who […]
Archives for June 2018
Why Corbyn is now and has always been a Brexiteer – and why that means pro-Europeans on the Left now need to decide
One question that will almost certainly be asked by political historians when they reflect back on the current age is why passionately pro-European leftists fell in behind a socialist Brexiteer like Jeremy Corbyn. For a few years now, being anti-Brexit has been one of the signature beliefs of the Left in Britain – all while […]
Here’s how – precisely, step by step – we might end up with a no deal Brexit from here
For a long time, I have assumed that a soft Brexit was all but assured. This was because 1). it is blatantly clear that May is engineering one and 2). either the ERG bunch don’t feel they have the power to remove her, don’t want to and are thus happy to settle for a soft […]
Here’s where I think most Leavers are at the moment
If you’re a Leaver of the Leninist type, a la Rees-Mogg, the parameters are clear. Everything comes down to next Tuesday: if the “meaningful vote” amendment passes, things look hairy. We’re in for a soft Brexit, almost certainly. At least, for now – they can always point to the fact that another prime minister can […]
What is with the pro-Russian thing on the Left? Where did it come from and where is it going?
Beyond any shadow of a doubt, the dissolution of the Soviet Union into a number of independent nation states, and with it a transition within Russia from a fully centralised socialist economy to a capitalist one, was carried out appalling poorly. Simplifying the story for brevity’s sake, the immediate post-Soviet government, for all intents and […]
What is it about the backstop that David Davis suddenly doesn’t like?
Yesterday was another classic example of Mayism. The Prime Minister was all set to send a note to Brussels about the backstop arrangements, a note that in true May style had a time limited clause that specified no time limit, her cabinet be damned, then David Davis got a bit huffy about it and so […]
The “Labour amendment” to the EU Withdrawal Bill represents a new low for Corbyn’s leadership
On Tuesday the 12th of June, all 15 amendments the Lords made to the EU Withdrawal Bill return to the House of Commons – with only one day given over to debate and the relevant votes. While it is clear this represents a certain amount of desperation on the part of Theresa May, it is […]
Why is May trying to get all of the Withdrawal Bill amendments through in one day? It can be for one of these three reasons
There are many in Westminster questioning Theresa May’s decision to hold one day of debate, with all of the votes inclusive, on the 15 Lords amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill – and many feeling sure they have the answer to that question. Here are the only possible reasons she is doing it this way: […]
Just how “socialist” are Corbyn, his followers and his policies? And how much should that worry us all?
Corbyn, like the rest of the current British hard left, presents himself as incredibly radical at times, yet at others as essentially moderate in approach, depending on the intended audience. He gets away with this in much the same way Donald Trump manages to land his wild vacillations: by throwing everything at the public so […]