The UKIP leader managed to miss a reception on Friday evening, one in which people had paid £25 for the privilege of hearing Nigel speak (insert joke here about limited sympathy for those who would pay that much to hear Farage talk crap). He had an excuse at the ready for why he missed it, […]
The “Cameron and Osborne are more extreme than Thatcher” narrative is a bad one for the Left
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, in an attempt to claw back some terrain after the Autumn Statement went all his opponent’s way, has described Osborne as “more extreme than Thatcher”. This is a line that has been echoed across the Left during the course of this parliament. I understand the reason – Thatcher had a divisive […]
Lesbian for a day
Valerie had called around many nunneries, hoping to find one that would accept her. Unfortunately, many of them either did not take guests who hadn’t said their vows or came right out and said that they did not sympathise with her position once it had been explained. But she got lucky; one day she drove […]
Hooray for the Foreign Aid Bill clearing the Commons
Yesterday, a bill guaranteeing that 0.7% of national income will be spent on foreign aid in perpetuity cleared the Lower House. It remains to be seen if it makes it through the Lords in one piece, but considering it was a Private Members’ Bill, albeit one that had the full backing of one of the […]
I think someday soon, Nigel Farage will jump the shark
On his LBC programme this week, Farage complained about breast feeding mothers, suggesting they should “perhaps sit in the corner”. I took the comment as Nigel playing to the gallery; his usual attempt to épater la bourgeoisie libéral and try and shore up the white van vote. Fine, that’s his shtick, no real surprise […]
Why the #CameronMustGo campaign is so misguided
I have been less than impressed by David Cameron’s premiership, I’ll announce up front. Faced with deciding that either the reason his party hadn’t won a majority in 2010 was because the modernising project hadn’t been taken far enough and thus opened a window to the Lib Dems to retain seats they would have otherwise […]
The Autumn Statement: if Labour doesn’t figure out how to change the scene very soon, they are going to get stuffed in May
The scene is a few days prior to the 2010 general election: Labour are embroiled in existential crisis. A bad campaign, the unpopularity of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Cleggmania have conspired together to create what looks to be the perfect storm. The party chiefs, while putting on a brave face for the public, worry […]
The “nasty party” dies hard: the Tim Aker leaflet, the Thurrock by-election, and the Conservative Party
A local by-election is the stage for a punch up between UKIP and the Tories, with those in blue coming out, in this instance, as the bad guys. The Thurrock Conservative Party has produced a leaflet that reminds you that it isn’t just Farage’s bunch that can be nasty. First off it refers to the […]
Lib Dems should distance themselves from the Tories – not the coalition government
Some readers will tie themselves up in knots over the title of this article. “Aren’t the Tories and the government basically the same thing, and you’re just making a semantic argument?” No they aren’t, and no I’m not. The Tories are the Conservative Party, formed in 1678, 1834, or 1912, depending on how you read […]
Ashcroft poll that has good news for Lib Dems, particularly in Lab-Lib marginal seats
Lord Ashcroft’s latest poll has some interesting findings in regards to Lib Dem marginal seats. First off, let’s look at Lib-Con marginals. There’s some potentially bad news here, with Nick Harvey predicted by the polling to lose his seat – but only by one point, so with swing-back Sir Nick should probably be fine. Portsmouth […]