Most people, other than the odd minority of those contending that Labour lost the general election because it was too right-wing, understand what happened in May 2015. Fear won the day. Many of us, buying into the polling until the very day of the election, crushed as a result when that exit poll hit us like […]
Will Corbyn ultimately destroy the far-left as many believe? Maybe, maybe not
As Jeremy Corbyn prepares to become leader of the Labour Party, a position that I’m sure at no point in his sixty-six years prior to a few weeks ago he ever thought he’d achieve, his rivals on the centre-left console themselves with this analgesic: this will allow everyone to see the far-left for what it […]
The Iran deal is such a no-brainer, opposition to it is incomprehensible
According to a poll, 58% of Americans are against the nuclear deal with Iran. Given it was pretty much the only realistic option available to the American government, on the surface of it this majority opinion is rather odd. Let’s run through the basics of the deal briefly: in 2002, the Americans obtained solid proof […]
Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino: a case study on collaboration
Once upon a time, there were two guys who worked in a video shop in Manhattan Beach, California – a semi-suburban area a little south of LAX – named Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. It was here that they became very good friends and developed a working relationship. They both wanted to be in the […]
Will Corbyn attract UKIP voters back to Labour?
I was engaged in a discussion on social media this past week with someone who was passionately pro-Corbyn. When we got into voting for Labour as a topic, he told me he’d never voted for Labour before. In fact, at the last election he voted UKIP. I probed him further on this and he said […]
I don’t really understand the vetting process for voting in the Labour leadership election
The headline, by the way, is in no way meant to imply that I myself tried to register and was denied a vote in the Labour leadership contest. I never attempted to do so. But at the moment, a process known to some as “Operation Icepick”, or #LabourPurge is underway, one that has staffers at […]
What effect will a Corbyn Labour leadership really have on the Lib Dems?
As I wrote yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn being the next leader of the Labour Party, barring some strange unforeseen event, can now be taken as a given. With this in mind, what effect will this have on the Liberal Democrats? There are two distinct strains of thought on this. The first is that Labour veering to […]
The Burnham-Cooper war is a phoney one. Corbyn has already won and they both know it
A battle of words erupted yesterday between the Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper campaigns. “If he isn’t prepared to offer an alternative to Jeremy, he needs to step back and leave it to Yvette,” said Team Cooper. “Yvette’s stunt is panicked, desperate and straight out of the Ed Balls handbook,” said Team Andy. Ouch. But it’s okay because […]
Does Ed Miliband need to say something about the leadership contest?
With Gordon Brown now having weighed in on the subject of who should be the next Labour leader (in a carefully worded speech that never once used the words “Jeremy” or “Corbyn”, but nonetheless could not have been referring to anyone else throughout), and David Miliband having given his own barnstorming speech on the matter […]
The Corbyn cyber trolls are helping dig their own party’s grave
The cybernats were a major feature of both the Scottish independence referendum and the general election. I am speaking here of SNP supporters who would take to all forms of social media, once there denouncing anyone who didn’t feel and think exactly the same way they did as a “traitor” or worse, a “Tory”. Not […]