As everyone will now agree, we are leaving the European Union in short order. Well, sort of. We lose our MEPs and seat on the Council in a few weeks time, once the Withdrawal Bill passes parliament, but after that we go into a transition period in which everything apart from our having a voice […]
Some initial thoughts on how the Labour Party could rebuild from this defeat and win the next election
Some of you might think I’m the wrong person to write this article. I’ve never voted Labour at a general election and I’ve spent most of the last four and half years slagging off Corbyn and telling anyone who would listen why everything Labour was doing was wrong. But that’s why I think I’m the […]
What went wrong with the Lib Dems 2019 general election campaign? Here’s a forensic examination
The Lib Dems have been crushed. Jo Swinson lost her seat; none of the defectors from the Labour and Conservative parties managed to either hold or take the seats they were contesting; the Liberal Democrats managed to overall net lose seats in an election where that seemed almost impossible going in. What follows is a […]
First thoughts on the 2019 general election result
Yesterday afternoon seems so long ago now. Back when we had some vague hope that somehow the Tories wouldn’t get a majority, yet Labour would lose badly enough to get rid of Corbyn. Tactical voting would work, it really would. Raab and Johnson are going to lose their seats. Now, we’re here in the early […]
My final thoughts on the 2019 general election before polling day
I know we have still have three days until it’s all over, but I don’t see what’s going to change in that time that will give us any more clarity on what will happen. It is now in the hands of fate. The polls over the weekend have the Tories going up a little and […]
What I learned about football after a ten year absence – and what I think that taught me about modern England
It started with my daughter taking an interest in Fulham Football Club. This happened after some players from Fulham had come to her school. Given Craven Cottage is located miles away from her school in south London, I thought this was somewhat peculiar, but I had no reason to think she was making it up. […]
The many paradoxes of Boris Johnson – here are my favourite three
One of the things you must do to keep your sanity during this general election campaign, which thankfully has less than a week less to run, is amuse yourself with the paradoxes that exist at the heart of the Tory campaign and indeed, Boris Johnson himself, ones that have hardly been explored during the last […]
The magic of Ween’s “The Pod”
I’m writing this today because I’ve run out of things to say about the general election. What will be, will be. I would like to apologise also to anyone coming onto this page from somewhere other than the UK, and/or who googled “The Pod” in 2023 and have been thrown by this introductory paragraph. Don’t […]
What happens to Brexit after December 12th? There are two likely outcomes
Unless a miracle occurs and the Tories do not end up with a majority after the general election, there are two main ways that Brexit goes from there. Given this is the future of the country, it is astonishing how little this is being discussed. Except when you remember that neither of the two largest […]
I’ve never been turned off by an election campaign this much, ever. I think I know why
I got about fifteen minutes into the BBC “leaders” debate last night before I couldn’t take any more. The whole thing was just too depressing. The Labour Party sent out Rebecca Long-Bailey to fill the slot. I realise she is the heir apparent to the Labour leadership, but she’s shadow BEIS – not even one […]