Boris Johnson is very unpopular in Scotland. A Times poll out this morning puts Johnson’s handling of the CoVid crisis amongst Scots at -61%. There was talk when he became PM that he would end the union – sure enough, the SNP are riding higher than ever in the polls and Scotland voting to leave […]
Why we need to get real about CoVid
Like everything else in the current era, CoVid is thought of differently on the left and right. The left have, oddly in a way, become lock down passionate, sure this is the right way to go. I say strange since it means giving a Tory government they swear are fascists ever more power. On the […]
Why all the V-shaped economy talk shows how confused Tory thinking is at present
A common thread amongst centre-right commentators at the moment is the “V-shaped recovery”. This is the idea that the unprecedented economic crash we are experiencing will be brief and things will return to normal very soon – thus, a graph showing economic growth in the years 2019 through 2021 will demonstrate a huge dip followed […]
Why I think Maajid Nawaz is wrong about Remainers and post-Brexit Britain
I really like Maajid Nawaz as a pundit. I think he is an interesting addition to a commentariat that can often feel boringly samey. A self-identifying Muslim who is a proper liberal and not only happy to criticise what he thinks is wrong or at least not working in the Islamic world but has taken […]
Starmer is going to have to remove the whip from Corbyn eventually – so he might as well do it now
The Labour civil war appears to have begun. Keir Starmer deciding to make settlement payments to seven former party employees turned whistle blowers was the catalyst – but the Labour left were itching for a fight, so almost anything could have started it. Jeremy Corbyn retaliated with a statement that appears designed to ratchet tensions […]
It’s time to talk about the British left and China
I’ve sort of held off writing this article for a while now. But things have gone too far. I was triggered by an article in the Independent authored by Vince Cable last week on the topic of China and the west. I’m simplifying a lot here, but basically the former Lib Dem leader was saying […]
What the Julian Lewis-Chris Grayling affair tells us about the state of the Boris Johnson government
Yesterday, an upset in the world of parliamentary committees took place large enough for people who aren’t total politics nerds to notice. The reason was that the government, who wanted Chris Grayling to be the new chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, was undone by Julian Lewis, a then Tory backbencher, who conspired with […]
Will the new face mask requirement have repercussions for the government?
What many have been speculating will happen for some time has finally taken place – the government has said that face masks are to become compulsory to wear in all shops and supermarkets in England from July 24th, ie, next Friday. It is classic CoVid era Boris, this one; it appears to be a decision […]
Here’s why the Liz Truss letter about post-Brexit trade is so revealing
An email from Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove outlining her concerns about what a no deal Brexit would entail has been leaked to the media. As expected, it was a big news story yesterday. Yet given all it reveals, it is amazing how relatively little attention it received. For it shines a […]
This is why I think non-Labour people like me are warming to Keir Starmer
Jeremy Clarkson has given a very guarded endorsement of the new Labour leader; it was less of a blessing than most people who haven’t actually read what Clarkson had to say about him think. Yet it wasn’t without real significance. A lot of people who aren’t natural Labour voters really are warming to Starmer all […]