I wish to preface this article with the statement that everything you are about to read is simply conjecture. I have no inside knowledge as to whether any of this is a possibility or not. This, in other words, is just a scenario I have completely made up. But it is a possible one, and a fascinating […]
Leadsom really could be our next prime minister now
I know you have every right to disregard me on this topic given I said Michael Gove was a sure fire bet to be our next prime minister. I will only retort that I figured there would have to be a Brexiter in the final two and that the parliamentary Conservative party would realise that […]
UKIP led by Paul Nuttall could be bigger than any of you are imagining
Everything is on a plate for UKIP at the moment. Actually, from the moment Cameron promised to hold an EU referendum, it always was. If we had voted to Remain, UKIP could have mopped up the disaffected, particularly the ex-Labour voters. As it stands, the prize they could grab could be much, much bigger now […]
The Chilcot report was the last thing the Labour Party needed at the moment
Labour, it is fair to say, is having some problems at present. Bitter infighting, a leader who has decided that parliamentary democracy and the rules that go with it are not his cup of tea, talk of a split – why not throw in the launch of a long awaited report on the Iraq war […]
Despite of all of the rhetoric, there still could be a general election soon enough
One of the mainstays of each of the Tory candidates for prime minister has been a vocal ruling out of a general election any time soon. Labour in particular, but everyone one else for that matter, should be aware that not only does this not mean that there won’t be another general election sometime in the […]
We need experience to get us out of this mess – this is no time for Leadsom
I met Andrea Leadsom for a meeting once. I had arranged it with her on a policy topic I can’t now recall, and was delighted when she agreed. Her very tall researcher picked me up from Central Hall and took me into the Commons. He was charming and I felt relaxed about the meeting ahead. Until […]
What is so hard to understand about single market = freedom of movement?
Since the Leave vote hit us, it has occurred to me just how little the political class understands our relationship with the EU pre-referendum, never mind what the public has really absorbed on the subject. There have been many misapprehensions, but the one that really stands out is the idea that somehow we can stay […]
Here a musical suggestion you won’t get elsewhere: look into the works of Birdie Hilltop
A very good friend of mine died less than a year ago in rather tragic circumstances. He was the one who first introduced me to the works of Birdie Hilltop, a singer/songwriter from Pennsylvania who has several albums to his name. I loved Birdie’s music from the very first minute I heard it – somehow languid […]
The move for Tory MPs to rubber stamp May as prime minster, bypassing the membership, might backfire
I’ll declare an interest right off the bat: I very much prefer Theresa May as the next prime minister. I can’t believe it has come to that, but there you are. She is far and away the least bad option here. Compare her to Michael “come meet the psychopaths I’ll be working with” Gove, and […]
The three events that completely changed British political history over the past decades
No, one of them is not the EU referendum result. That would be too obvious. Instead I have taken a trio of happenings that I think changed the course of British political history over the last ten years in unthinkable ways that could easily have gone the other way. Gordon Brown not calling the 2007 […]