Heidi Allen, the ex-Tory MP for South Cambridgeshire, has launched a new campaign called Unite to Remain. The essence of it is to create a Remain alliance, one in which certain parties step aside in seats to allow Remain parties who have a better chance of winning a clear run. Allen herself pointed to the […]
A short summary of Labour’s latest Brexit position
I have, I admit, been cynical regarding Labour’s positioning on Brexit in the past. I said before the 2017 general election that they had landed on a policy regarding leaving the EU that would satisfy no one. Lo and behold, they ended up with 40% of the vote. So, who knows, perhaps this latest move […]
The magic Brexit myth goes on and on and on
I’ll know we’ve turned a corner at long last in this confusing political era we are unfortunately experiencing when political pundits of all stripes stop buying into the magic Brexit myth. By this I mean the idea that all it will take is one move, whatever that might be, and then Brexit will be “resolved” […]
Within the Remain side of politics, there is still too much complacency
This isn’t an article about who would win a second EU referendum and why (or why not) I believe that to be the case. That in itself is a prime example of Remainer complacency. No, this runs much deeper than that. Remainers have started in what looks like their millions to turn away from Corbyn […]
Could BoJo get away with a soft Brexit?
In all my wonderings about what Boris Johnson will do when he becomes prime minister, until very recently I hadn’t considered the soft Brexit option at all. I sort of ruled it out, leading to a very narrow set of options for Johnson on Brexit. I will admit that this possibility was opened up to […]
Why Boris Johnson as prime minister will be the death of Brexit
One of the great ironies that will be relished by historians in the semi-distant future is how Rory Stewart, the only candidate in the current Tory leadership who had a realistic plan for delivering Brexit, was derided as a Remainer, while they went on to pick Boris Johnson instead, who was the final nail in […]
The leadership contest demonstrates the Tories have lost the plot – for the time being at least
The Conservative Party has been morphing into something else since June 2016, something very different to what they have ever previously been. Amongst other things, they used to know how to win elections. How are they doing on that front these days? Lost their majority at the 2017 general election; lost 1,300 councillors at the […]
The political battle ahead points to Remain v Leave for many years to come
One of the things that makes me smile when I read political commentaries at present is whenever Brexit is framed as being “over with” sometime soon. This is one of the great myths of our current age. It is spread by those who think we can have a second referendum in the next couple of […]
My immediate take on the EU election results
It was a very good night for Remain – but not for the reasons most people are talking about A conversation that will rumble on for at least the next couple of weeks will be around whether Remain or Leave “won” these elections in the UK. On one side, you will hear endlessly about the […]
Labour could come fourth tomorrow – let’s examine the aftermath of that result
YouGov have put out their final poll before the EU elections tomorrow. They have the Brexit Party storming ahead on 37%, the Lib Dems in second on 19%, Labour in third on 13%, the Green on 12% – and the Tories on a lowly 7%. It should be noted again that this is a difficult […]