Last night, Tim Farron gave an interview to Channel 4 news. Cathy Newman, the interviewer, asked the new Lib Dem leader if, as a Christian, he thought that homosexuality was a sin. Tim dodged the question, refusing to say yes or no, in what became a sort of Paxman-esque set up, as Newman asked him […]
Tim Farron as Lib Dem leader: thoughts, prayers, hopes
I wasn’t going to write an article on this subject. But somehow, it was staring me in the face; the following is the product of necessity. Yesterday afternoon, Tim Farron was elected the fifth leader of the Liberal Democrats (if you discount interim leaders). As a self-avowed member of the Orange Book wing, some might […]
A judgement on the SNP’s fox hunting gimmick: smart politics or Union threatening tomfoolery?
Let’s examine the basic facts first. The Tories have had to withdraw a bill meant to bring fox hunting legally back to England. This is because they didn’t have all the numbers needed on their own benches (something that’s looking likely to happen a fair old bit this parliament), and if the SNP voted on […]
The far-left and the far-right converge – it’s like 1975 all over again
In the wake of the ongoing Greek tragedy, the far-left in Britain has finally woken up to the idea that the EU may not be the left-wing dreamland they’d fantasised that it was. George Monbiot has said he might vote No over environmental issues (okay…). Owen Jones is flirting with No as well, mostly as […]
Leftists of all people should understand that money trumps everything
In light of the latest in what has become an interminable series of talks between the Greek government and their increasingly annoyed creditors, you will hear much from centre-left commentators in the days to come about how the ECB is trying to subvert democracy. Actually, putting aside the radio static of snap referenda for one […]
Labour has to realise there is a path between capitulation and redemption
Harriet Harman has given an interview to the BBC during which she intimated that Labour would basically vote through several of the most contentious bits of Osborne’s budget. “We’ve had a serious defeat and we must listen to why.” Harriet is both completely right and totally wrong at the same time. Yes, Labour has suffered […]
Lesson for the EU campaigns: anti-politics doesn’t work
The Telegraph has run a story this morning concerning one Jim Mellon, a wealthy man who plans to back the No to the EU campaign. If you’re thinking it’s a bit much for the Telegraph to write an article every time some rich person donates to the Get Out campaign, get used to it: we’ve […]
Holiday in Great Yarmouth aka why Owen Jones is wrong, part 1,217
Taking one’s holiday in England is not the done thing – at least, it’s not the done thing if you’re middle class. Even holidaying in a cheap and ready Greek resort is more acceptable within English bourgeois mores; the whole concept of the “holiday” means by definition almost, an escape from England. This is nothing […]
Would a George Osborne premiership be a lot like Gordon Brown’s?
George is on the up, no question. Facing no one of equal political calibre in his own party (many note how much of a diminished figure Boris cut in the Commons as his rival to replace Dave had his crowning moment), and having tied Labour up in knots over his latest budget, many in Westminster […]
Osborne’s emergency budget causes problems for the Left that remind me of ten years ago
2005. Despite Blair’s falling approval ratings and the Lib Dems nibbling away at their support over Iraq, Labour won the general election. In fact, it was never seriously in doubt. The Tories seemed unable to break through at all; Labour and the greater Left seemed to have cornered the national debate. People began asking if […]