In the wake of the announcement by the Electoral Commission that Vote Leave overspent during the EU referendum campaign, many Leavers have decided to counter with a tactic you could broadly call “I know you are but what am I”. It is a knee-jerk response which consists of saying “well, even if Vote Leave cheated […]
Why Remainers really shouldn’t see the Electoral Commission Vote Leave decision as being a gamechanger
Today, the Electoral Commission announced the findings of its investigation into Vote Leave and BeLeave: there was deemed to be definite collaboration, meaning that Vote Leave overspent their official limit by £625,000. The organisation has been fined £61,000 and the responsible people for both organisations, David Halsall and Darren Grimes respectfully, have been referred to […]
How we might end up with a second referendum on Europe – with only two choices, not three
Justine Greening, the former secretary of state for education, is the first big name Tory MP to clearly call for a second referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. She describes the Chequers agreement as a fudge – and, of course, it is – and says that parliament has no way to break the deadlock, […]
I’m starting to think that perhaps hardcore Brexiteers actually want to stop Brexit themselves
If Brexit somehow does not happen, historians will look back in awe at the part those who most vocally advocated the UK leaving the EU played in making sure it didn’t occur. From the moment following Cameron’s resignation to the present, a group of hardcore Leavers have been easily the most instrumental figures in bringing […]
Why I don’t think the resignation of David Davis is actually that big a deal
For a long time now, people in Westminster have been speculating as to what might happen if David Davis was to resign, with the assumption that May’s premiership couldn’t survive it. I have always doubted that this was the case, and this morning I am more sure of that than ever. While it is technically […]
This is the major thing that the anti-Brexit campaigners are getting wrong at present
After more than a hundred thousand protestors gathered in central London last weekend, Lord Adonis tweeted a picture of proceedings with the caption “The moment Brexit died?” It highlights how much the anti-Brexit group think they have slain the enemy, which I think may be very much be the product of bubble politics. Sure, Leave […]
Why the fallout from Brexit could end up hurting Labour more than the Tories
I read an article, at least one a week, about how Brexit is going to be the death of the Conservative Party. Beyond being very cavalier about the impending doom of the most successful political party in the history of mankind, I don’t agree with most of the analysis on a fundamental level. I think […]
No, the Tory rebels cannot be “screwed” by the government: explaining the technicalities behind last night’s vote
Many Remainers were livid with the Tory “rebels” – the Remainer Conservative MPs who had threatened to vote for the Lords’ amendment on a “meaningful” vote on the final Brexit deal – for having in the end voted with the government and defeated the amendment last night. I am not asking any of you who […]
Why Corbyn is now and has always been a Brexiteer – and why that means pro-Europeans on the Left now need to decide
One question that will almost certainly be asked by political historians when they reflect back on the current age is why passionately pro-European leftists fell in behind a socialist Brexiteer like Jeremy Corbyn. For a few years now, being anti-Brexit has been one of the signature beliefs of the Left in Britain – all while […]
Here’s how – precisely, step by step – we might end up with a no deal Brexit from here
For a long time, I have assumed that a soft Brexit was all but assured. This was because 1). it is blatantly clear that May is engineering one and 2). either the ERG bunch don’t feel they have the power to remove her, don’t want to and are thus happy to settle for a soft […]