As someone who grew up in suburbia and didn’t really enjoy it all that much, I have a particular soft spot for anything that describes artfully the depressing facts of life which comprise the coming of age in such an environment. What I’ve tried to do here is assemble the ten best such works, which […]
Is the age of two-party politics back? Will we see another coalition government again?
Prior to the May 2015 general election, a lot of obituaries on the two-party system in Britain were written. I recall reading somewhere that the moon striking the Earth in the next few weeks was more likely than one party forming a majority government. The age of coalitions was, apparently, here to stay. But then […]
Could UKIP win the Oldham West and Royton by-election?
This week, veteran Labour MP Michael Meacher passed away. The man’s politics was not my own, but he was clearly someone who felt passionately about his own positions and often wrote eloquently about them. This has obviously led the way to a by-election to take place in the Oldham West and Royton constituency at a […]
Why the unelected House of Lords will probably still be around in 2100
I worked for an organisation that was trying to support a change to the House of Lords to transform it into a mostly elected chamber back in 2012. Needless to say the enterprise was not a success. The foremost reason for this is because to say that neither the Tories nor Labour want any significant changes […]
The Liberals winning in Canada is a victory for liberalism, not leftism
As one who grew up in Canada, I was heartened to see this week’s election got some attention in the UK. Most of this seemed to revolve around those on the centre-left praising the fall of Harper and the rise of Trudeau Jnr. While I can agree with them that seeing the back of Harper is […]
Tom Watson, the trade unions and the next Labour leader
There was an article in the Evening Standard last night regarding the unions choice for next Labour leader. In case you didn’t see the feature, I shall not keep you in suspense any longer: apparently they want Watson to be next in line should Corbyn “fail”. Most of this conjecture is based around Len McCluskey and […]
Britain isn’t after a left or right-wing government – it just wants one that works
A tale of two things from last week, one good, one bad for the Labour Party. I start with the good news. Some research suggests that 71 marginal seats currently held by the Tories contain significant numbers of people who will be adversely affected by the cuts to tax credits. In a week in which […]
One of the great unrecognised film genres: the Yakuza film
Yakuza are Japanese gangsters, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. In real life, the Yakuza are the inheritors of the Tekiya and Bakuto groups that existed in Edo-era Japan; at least, the rituals of those groups found their way down to the modern day Yakuza (such as the large scale tatoos that adorn their abdomens). […]
I hate to admit it, but Michael Fabricant does have a point here
After Corbyn’s second go at Prime Minister’s Questions, Michael Fabricant, the man many of you might know as the Tory MP with the interesting hair, took to social media to comment. “This ‘Jackie from Abbots Bromley says’ technique is very time consuming. What about back-bench MPs who can’t get in? Corbyn can ask the question without […]
This is the only way anyone but the SNP can win in Scotland again
The SNP ride higher than ever in the polls – some have them as high 60% for next May’s Holyrood election. There appears to have been very little “Corbyn bounce” for Labour, at least thus far. It begs the question: how will anyone but the SNP win in Scotland ever again? Part of what must […]