This question comes up a lot on social media and I always have a very simple answer to it: no. However, the question does deserve a longer answer, explaining why exactly that is. Consider this as the sort of foreword to a longer piece that would explain everything in detail; this is my macro view […]
If you want to know what life would be like in a post-EU Britain, don’t look to Norway – instead just review Xi Jinping’s visit this month
In the wake of Cameron’s speech denouncing the “Norwegian model” as an alternative for Britain to EU membership, the Outers have all piled in to denounce the idea themselves. Odd, as they used to be quite taken with the notion of emulating that particular Scandinavian country’s way of trading with the world (as many a Bruges […]
Does the government actually want to lose this particular vote?
It’s all happening in the House of Lords this week. The Conservative Party, former stalwart guardians of the Upper House, have taken to highlighting the other place’s lack of democracy (it’s been that way for some time now, guys), with the whiff of “constitutional crisis” in the air (being talked about on this occasion, ironically, by […]
What effect will the Corbyn era have on the Tories?
After recent events, we should start by asking how long said era is going to last. The genesis of the Corbyn project has been poorer than what I and many others had expected. From the numerous comms gaffes of the last 48 hours, most notably involving shadow cabinet appointments, to the by all accounts tense […]
The thing that was going to tear the Tories apart, may ironically rip Labour in half
In the wake of their unexpected, slender majority, the Tories were overly concerned about one thing in May: Europe. It was a topic that had the potential to rip the Conservative Party into pieces, particularly now that Cameron had to hold the referendum he’d pledged to have if he ever found himself in just such […]
Eurosceptic Tories are a lot like the Nats: they will never take no for an answer
The Electoral Commission have decided that the wording on the EU referendum ballot needs changing. Instead of being a yes or a no question, there will be two boxes – one to remain in the EU, one to leave – and you tick one of the other. Actually, this seems completely fair to me. The […]
For once, I agree fully with Lynton Crosby
Lynton Crosby appeared at a speaking engagement in his native land very recently and took aim at political pundits. Fair enough – if I were him, I’d do the same thing. It’s hard not to gloat when a whole contingent of people are shown to be definitively wrong about you (I’m in that category of […]
Lessons from the AV referendum: Farage is playing with fire with the official designation thing
The Yes to AV campaign faced many, many problems. Thankfully, one of them was never whether or not we’d have competition as to who would be the officially designated Yes campaign for Electoral Commission purposes. We were scared that some bunch of weirdos might come out of the woodwork at the last moment though and […]
The massive disconnect between Eurosceptic Tories and the Tory hero of the day
It is fair and even obvious to say that George Osborne is the Conservative paladin of the moment. The unexpected majority he was a major part of achieving, followed by a budget that got hearts racing on the Right, means Osborne has become the prime minister heir apparent. All of which makes the fact that […]
The far-left and the far-right converge – it’s like 1975 all over again
In the wake of the ongoing Greek tragedy, the far-left in Britain has finally woken up to the idea that the EU may not be the left-wing dreamland they’d fantasised that it was. George Monbiot has said he might vote No over environmental issues (okay…). Owen Jones is flirting with No as well, mostly as […]