One of the stories of the general election was how wrong all of the polls were during the run in. The day of the election itself had both the Tories and Labour tied; none of them predicted the Tory landslide on the way. Or at least what looked like a landslide after what the polls […]
Andy Burnham’s Observer interview demonstrates why he’d be a terrible Labour leader
Yesterday, The Observer ran an interview with Burnham which beautifully illustrated everything I’ve been saying about the impending disaster of his leadership of the Labour Party. There’s lots to talk about here, so let’s begin. We’ll start with the headline, which often times in a newspaper article is a little unfair on the interviewee since […]
Is the “new” politics dead? It was a myth to start with
We all thought we were now firmly in the era of hung parliaments. Gone would be the days of one party majorities ruling over us in a way that had become the norm since 1945. Then the Tories proved us all wrong. Into this idea of the “new” politics was that parties were going to […]
Will the next five years be rebellion city for Cameron?
The Conservatives are really talking up last Thursday’s result. I don’t blame them – when all of the discussion leading up to an election is about how no one can win, getting a majority, even one of 12, looks like a massive triumph. The question now is this: will Cameron be held to ransom by […]
Chuka departs the contest. What does the Labour leadership race look like from here?
Following Chuka Ummuna’s departure from the battle to be the next leader of the Labour Party, how this is all going to play out comes into sharp focus. Only three days after launching his campaign to become Labour leader, Chuka’s resignation statement was odd to say the least. He talked about himself and his family […]
Why Farage hanging around like a bad smell is great for British pro-Europeans
Yesterday, UKIP went into a meltdown that has no precedent in British politics. Usually when something as epic as what has just occurred takes place, it involves people slagging each other off to journalists behind a shroud – the “senior source” of political journalism infamy. This grinds down morale and public trust in a party […]
The Left has just wasted five years. I hope it doesn’t waste the next five
During the parliament that has just elapsed, most of what came from left of centre voices in this country was ill-informed, reactionary and often downright childish. I know that’s a harsh opening statement, but now is not the time to be mealy mouthed. It started with the cuts marches being endorsed by Ed Miliband in […]
My one on ones with Ed Miliband: the gossipy stuff I’ve kept back for just such an occasion
Now that Ed Miliband has disappeared from front line politics, almost certainly for good (unless the Labour Party has really lost its mind), I thought I’d divulge the few times I ever met the man face to face. The first thing to say as a preface is that he is kind of weird. I know […]
What can the Tories learn from the Con-Lib Coalition?
In the run up to the 2015 general election, it was interesting to note that the Independent, the Economist and the Financial Times all made the same endorsement. It was not for a single party, but rather for the continuation of what was then the current two-party coalition government. What these publications were pining for […]
Who will be the next leader of the Liberal Democrats?
With Nick Clegg stepping aside as leader of the Lib Dems, the fight begins immediately for who his successor will be. As it happens, even though the party lost 48 seats in the general election, of the eight that remain the two who were always favourites to be the next leader, Tim Farron and Norman […]