Still not convinced Jeremy Corbyn has the Labour leadership in the bag? Yesterday we witnessed the fag-end of modern political campaigning. If you want to know what the sound of the barrel being scraped in Westminster is like, you just had to tune into what emitted from the Burnham camp yesterday. They claimed to the […]
Here’s one time I’m glad Cameron has a habit of backing down
Every once in a while, an image so powerful it can change public opinion, or turn it even further in one direction, comes along. The day before yesterday, we were given one such image: that of a small boy lying face down on a beach, dead. If you have children of your own – and […]
Chuka Umunna’s latest statement regarding Corbyn perfectly summaries why I’m not a Labourite
The man who quite reasonably in many respects (given what was happening at the time) thought running for the leadership of the Labour Party was not for him, spoke in Amsterdam this week about several things, not least of which was the leader elect, Mr Jeremy Corbyn. Only there was none of this “coalition of […]
Eurosceptic Tories are a lot like the Nats: they will never take no for an answer
The Electoral Commission have decided that the wording on the EU referendum ballot needs changing. Instead of being a yes or a no question, there will be two boxes – one to remain in the EU, one to leave – and you tick one of the other. Actually, this seems completely fair to me. The […]
This is the only scenario in which an SDP-style new party would be possible
So Corbyn becomes leader of the Labour Party – will there be another split a la 1981 as a result? There are many factors working against that happening any time soon. For or a start, 1981 itself. As you may recall, that didn’t go so well. The “prepare for government” quip looked foolish in light […]
One of the sad truths about the human race is that we are constantly under and over-reacting to things
Homo sapiens are a funny old mammal: as a result of an evolutionary twist that is completely understandable, I think we have what I would constitute as a glitch. Our brains are adapted to view risk in pretty stark terms. Either the predator is there or it isn’t. It’s a binary equation to us poor, […]
Holding the centre ground is straightforward: you convince swing voters you are the only party for them
Pretty much anyone who knows anything about politics agrees that the way you win general elections in Britain is by convincing everyone that it is your party that occupies the centre ground, and that, by extension, the other lot are too far towards one of the extremes. There is, of course, a great deal of […]
Lessons the AV referendum might contain for Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters
I recall being at a party organised by one of the main spokespeople for the Yes to AV campaign a couple of months after the referendum had taken place. One guy who was a friend of the host told me that in the end, he’d voted No. The reason he gave was this: “I’d like […]
The whole outrage at the House of Lords is a big sham
Yesterday, the government announced the dissolution list. This told us all the people who are becoming peers, getting knighthoods or other royal honours as a result of the general election coming and going. This is a ritual that accompanies every general election post-mortem. As a result of the list being published, another great British ritual […]
Anyone remember Ross Perot? The women-only carriages storm is minor compared to what’s coming Jeremy Corbyn’s way
A social media hurricane was unleashed in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s suggestion yesterday that the solution to women being harassed on public transport was women-only carriages. Let’s look at what Jeremy had to say before going any further: “My intention would be to make public transport safer for everyone from the train platform, to […]