Two years ago, I wrote an article for The New European about how I thought that perhaps the country needed a hard Brexit in order to move on from the Brexit wars. That enough people were never going to turn against Brexit unless they experienced the downsides of it first-hand. Between then and the present […]
Archives for January 2020
Some further thoughts on Orange Book liberalism as it pertains to the Lib Dems, based on feedback from you lot
Over this past week, I have written a couple of articles about the direction I believe the Lib Dems need to take if they wish to become electorally relevant again in the near future. To summarise and simplify, I said the party needed to move to the right and become more pro-business in order to […]
Why this is the only political space available to the Lib Dems – and why they won’t take it
Last Friday, I published an article on this site about why Lib Dem hopes of an alliance, formal or otherwise, with the Labour Party was complete fantasy. Near the close of the article, I added the following as an afterthought: “I close with something I’ve said many times before, but worth repeating here: all of […]
In order for the green movement to truly prosper, it needs to do this
In April of last year, George Monbiot went on Frankie Boyle’s show and gave a speech about what we need to do to halt and reverse climate change. There were several prescriptions, some of them sensible, like switching to plant based diets, several of them less sturdy. Amongst the ones that fit into the latter […]
Here are the major arguments against the Tories as stated by their opponents – and why they all suck
In the wake of the election result, there have been many takes on the Tory victory from the centre, the centre-left and the proper left, all of them very, very bad. I thought it was worth taking the time to go through them and talk about why they don’t work the way they are intended. […]
What the Lib Dems keep failing to understand about the Labour Party
“I think we’ve got an opportunity now to truly bury the hatchet with the Labour Party,” said Layla Moran, who is very likely to the be the next Lib Dem leader, while on talk radio a couple of weeks ago. She also said she wouldn’t rule out a more formal relationship being established between the […]
How Boris Johnson’s agenda is a lot like Tony Blair’s – and what that might mean for the way the UK is governed
Usually when people compare other British politicians to Tony Blair, they mean the politician in question is presentationally slick but supposedly substance light; or that they represent centrism of some flavour; or that they are on the political centrist extreme of their party. I’m about to compare Boris Johnson and Tony Blair in a much […]
Why being on the left in Britain is now as difficult as being on the right in America
It is really difficult to be right-wing in America. And by that I do not mean it is tricky for right-wing people to get on in the US; what I mean is, there is such a high bar to being considered truly right-wing in the States that is difficult to be right-wing enough to clear […]
A guide to why most voters think Boris is doing a good job thus far for all the Boris-haters out there
Most Remainers on my social media timelines are stunned that people are reacting so positively to Boris Johnson and the Conservative party since the general election came and went. “He went on a posh holiday for a fortnight!” you all bellow. “Surely people can see what a charlatan he is!”. Evidently not. There hasn’t been […]
Why an elected House of Lords is a bad idea
It is often the case in Labour leadership contests that constitutional reform plays a role, only to disappear from the scene once the new leader is chosen. This is likely to be the case this time with Rebecca Long-Bailey’s idea of having an elected upper chamber to replace the House of Lords, whether she wins […]