Armando Ianucci wrote an article in the Guardian this weekend past entitled, “Politics was once about beliefs and society. Now it’s a worship of money”. It contains the following paragraphs: “It used to be that we went into elections being asked some pretty big questions about what sort of country we wanted to live in. […]
How did we end up in a situation in which the SNP are the only political party with cause for real optimism?
After the Scottish referendum had been lost by the nationalists on September 18th of last year, you would never have thought that sitting here in early March of 2015, the SNP would be the only party in Britain that had any right to feel truly good about itself. How did this happen? I should hasten […]
The coming Tory split – will the failure of UKIP halt it or help it?
Imagine the following scenario: as a result of having been empty chaired for the TV debates, at least the first two before realising he has to take part in the final one-on-one with Miliband, Cameron fails to help the Tories become the largest party in a hung parliament. By default, Labour form a government; Miliband […]
Would Labour be on course to win on May 7th if David Miliband had become leader in 2010?
Labour conference, September 2010, Manchester. I was there myself; I remember it felt in a weird sort of way like Labour were still in power, such were the security arrangements, the general tension and build-up. This was mostly down to the leadership election. It was clear that the entire future of the Labour Party was […]
I hate to admit it, but Cameron has played a blinder on the TV debates
Yesterday at PMQs, Miliband gave Cameron a hard time about ducking the TV debates. “I think the British public deserves it, and David Cameron should now name the date.” In response, Craig Oliver, the Number 10 comms director, wrote a letter to Sue Inglish, Head of Political Programmes for the BBC. The closing of it […]
“Hipsters voting for UKIP?”: how young people are drifting away from the two big parties
Ipsos Mori has put out some fascinating data on the voting patterns and choices of 18-34 year olds. Over the course of the past year, UKIP, the Greens, and even the Lib Dems have made modest gains in support amongst this age group. Meanwhile, both the Tories and Labour have seen their support from “Generation […]
Whatever sections of the political media or Russell Brand or Natalie Bennett say, we are not on the brink of a revolution
In a Telegraph article, talking about her worst day in politics, Natalie Bennett was still positive about one thing: “I think we’re going to see massive change in British politics.” This goes together with the “peaceful revolution” (which sounds a lot like what Russell Brand is after) that Bennett also tells us is just around […]
The “Save Dave” campaign says a lot about the modern Conservative Party’s problems
You may not be at all aware of it, but within the confines of the Conservative Party there exists a concerted effort to hold onto David Cameron as leader of the party. The severity of the loyalty to the current leader ranges: from a sort of, he must be kept in situ if there’s a […]
Why earmarking 2% of GDP for defence spending is a silly idea
An interesting phenomenon within fiscal conservatism in the West is the treatment of defence spending. The theme goes like this: everything the government does should have its budget shrunk – except for defence, which should essentially be limitless in terms of what can be given over by the taxpayer. This reaches its sickening apex in […]
Why aren’t the Tories ahead in the polls?
We are now a little over two months from polling day. At this point, comparing the two main parties’ election campaigns is like reading about a Netherlands-San Marino World Cup qualifying football match – so one-sided as to make you feel sorry for the bunch getting walloped. For while the Tories have run an extremely […]