Let’s tally this up: Theresa May has ruled out several things in the event the vote on her deal does not pass through parliament. She has very recently ruled out trying to go for an EEA arrangement, citing free movement (let’s face it, the ending of which was the only part of Brexit she ever […]
Archives for November 2018
The “none of the above” electorate and what I think it has to do with both Brexit and the 2017 general election result
During the 2015 general election campaign, I did some phone canvassing for the Lib Dems. It was the simpler end of this sort of thing, at least for me: I was calling local organisers to see what, if anything, they required from HQ. So, no need to pitch the party, just find out some practicalities. […]
Trying to imagine the horror of the May/Corbyn Brexit TV debate
This really does look to be coming our way. Theresa May has said she would like to debate Jeremy Corbyn on the television, on the merits or lack thereof of her deal with the EU. I’ve been trying to imagine what such a debate would look like – I can confirm that such a thing […]
How a no confidence vote against the government might actually pan out (including one wacky scenario)
With May’s Brexit arrangement facing an uncertain future in the Commons, some of the palace intrigue shifts to the idea of a vote of no confidence in the government should HMG fail to gain a majority for May’s plan in the House. But what would actually happen if this were to occur – and more […]
How Brexit is becoming a battle for the soul of the Conservative Party
It’s become cliche that every Tory prime minister since Major at least has been brought down by Europe. Also, that it appears to be happening yet again. I think Brexit exposes something deeper than this in terms of the problems faced by the Conservative party, going all the way back to Thatcher’s departure in 1990, […]
For the first time since June 2016, I feel like Brexit not happening is more likely than it happening. Here’s why
Some housekeeping first: looks like the 48 letter challenge to May’s premiership has stalled, rather embarrassingly for the main cheerleaders involved. Meanwhile, Spain is threatening to bring down the whole deal from the EU side over provisions covering Gibraltar – remember, the deal still has to be ratified by the EU27. There are still a […]
My view on Shami Chakrabarti on Marr, for what it’s worth
Social media has been filled with opinions on how Shami Chakrabarti’s interview on the Andrew Marr show went this past weekend. A large chunk of left-wing opinion seems to feel that Marr was bullying towards her in a way that may possibly have been sexist or even mysogynistic. Having watched the interview a few times […]
My takeaways from yesterday’s, uh, events
It really hit the fan yesterday, huh? We all sort of knew it was coming, yet that didn’t stop it being somehow spectacular when it finally unfolded. There has been a massive amount of comment on what happened yesterday with the various resignations and so forth; here, I’m only going to try and cover the […]
Could Keir Starmer’s big moment be close at hand?
At long last, the “deal” has landed, bringing with it opprobrium from both Leavers and Remainers. Speculation today has mostly been centred on which cabinet members will resign shortly (so far, none have) and whether May has any hope of getting this “deal” through parliament. Thinking ahead, however, a much more interesting question emerges, this […]
Brexit: what is next for the Left? More complicated even than it sounds
I chaired an event last night in a House of Commons committee room entitled “Brexit: what’s next for the Left?” with panelists Femi Oluwole and Cathleen Clarke from OFOC, Khalid Mahmood MP, shadow minister for Europe (which I have to admit, I was unaware of pre-event. Wait, why does Labour even have a shadow minister […]