I have tried to fill this with as few spoilers as humanly possible I finally saw it the new Star Wars movie, after a couple of weeks of deliberation. As some of you will know, I was no great fan of the prequels (this is putting it extremely mildly). But the trailer to The Force […]
Why is Jeremy Corbyn so focused on stopping Trident renewal anyway?
Consider for a moment how much Corbyn has staked thus far in the name of trying to stop Trident renewal from taking place. He has greatly annoyed the trade unions over the issue, never more so than at Labour conference in Brighton last year when he told the GMB he would make the party line be pro-EU […]
Why yesterday made me feel genuinely sorry for Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn stood outside of King’s Cross station yesterday to protest about rail fares. Let’s stop right there for a second: the leader of the opposition, one of the most powerful men in the country, a member of the Privy Council who can appear on television pretty much any time he likes and reach millions […]
Why are the Corbyn team’s dealings with the media so mind-bendingly terrible?
Before all the Corbynistas jump in here and say I’m just nitpicking for things to attack Jeremy over, hear me out. Back before Corbyn became leader but such an outcome was increasingly obvious I stated that I thought he would enjoy a honeymoon period. A time when his straight talking take on numerous issues would […]
The odds of these things happening in 2016
After 2015 produced unpredictability on an epic scale, making guesses at what will happen this year has become tricky sport. So instead I have decided to look at a few possible 2016 events and gauge their likelihood. Wish me luck: 1. Corbyn ending this year on the backbenches There has been bold crystal ball gazing […]
My back pages: reflections on Hungary, Britain, liberal democracy and the European Union
The following is an original draft of an essay I did for the European Liberal Forum book, “Member State Violation Against Democratic Principles – What Can the EU Do?”, detailing my experiences in Budapest in the summer of 2015. As 2016 commences, I thought I might share it with you. In June of 2015, I […]
Why liberal views are often seen to be lacking emotion
I will spend at least the first portion of 2016 explaining why I think the UK should remain part of the European Union; part of me looks forward to the challenge, part of me dreads it. Already the debate has fallen into a predictable pattern: the Leavers speak from the heart while the Remain folk […]
How the 2008 crash was the perfect political mirror image of the fall of the Berlin Wall
I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall very clearly. I was a few weeks shy of my seventeen birthday, and this momentous event felt as if it came out of nowhere. The Cold War had been the backdrop to my entire life up until that point; the idea that it was ending seemed unimaginable. […]
Would the Lib Dems have done better in May 2015 if they’d been more like the Corbynistas?
As one who writes some critical things regarding Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership from time to time, I have been on the receiving end of a reasonable amount of Corbynista abuse. The one thing about it I find truly fascinating is that they are genuinely outraged by any attack, perceived or otherwise on their man; the fans […]
This is the harsh truth about anti-Corbynites
There appear to be two viewpoints within Labour if one is an anti-Corbynite. The first goes that Jeremy is a stain on the nation and the party and that all effort must be put into wresting power away from him as quickly as possible. The alternative opinion being that ultimately the Tories are the enemy […]