There are many things about Andy Burnham I dislike but I have to credit him with one thing: the guy always finds new ways to make me like him even less than I already do. During one of his recent copious interviews in which he is in no way seeking to put himself in the […]
Five British political scandals that ultimately went nowhere
In a week that saw Boris Johnson caught up in multiple political scandals, any one of which would have brought down a political career back in the old days when this stuff still mattered, I am taking the time to remind us all of incidents in British politics that have fizzled out into what is […]
Why we should be thankful for how the Trump presidency turned out in the end
Today is the last full day of the Trump presidency. It is easy to take his loss in November for granted, forgetting how likely his re-election seemed at the start of 2020 (and which the thinness of Biden’s wins in crucial states bears out). It is also easy to underestimate how much worse Trump’s presidency, […]
Here’s my prediction for the 2020 US presidential election
Today is the day politics nerds – and those who are deeply interested in the political fate of western civilisation – have been both anticipating and dreading for four years. The US presidential election. The chance for Trump to be judged on his presidency. For once, the hyperbole surrounding an election is fully justified – […]
Why the left needs to steal this trick from the right to win again
I recently wrote on here about how, contrary to what appears to be a widespread assumption, I believe the right are starting to win the culture war. A lot of people on the right resist this idea, at least partly because it rubs up against their game plan, which is to win the culture war […]
It’s time to talk about the British left and China
I’ve sort of held off writing this article for a while now. But things have gone too far. I was triggered by an article in the Independent authored by Vince Cable last week on the topic of China and the west. I’m simplifying a lot here, but basically the former Lib Dem leader was saying […]
Why the way the Democratic primaries are unfolding should worry British Tories, never mind Trump
Only a few weeks ago, the Democratic primaries were looking to unfold in such a chaotic way that Donald Trump’s re-election began to look inevitable. The way that Sanders was fighting with not only every other candidate but with the Democratic Party itself seemed designed to help Trump remain in the White House. And yet […]
How the Coronavirus crisis has become a political Rorschach test
When I look at the current Coronavirus crisis through the lens of politics this is what I see: Trump failing and being seen to be failing. The Democratic Party starting to unite around Joe Biden in an effort to beat Trump, something the mishandling of the current crisis makes more likely. America will also see […]
Why the Bernie Sanders campaign sucks – and what that means for politics in the US, the UK and around the world
Super Tuesday did not go as planned for Bernie Sanders. The results are still coming in as I write this, but it looks like he’ll only win California, Colorado, Utah and Vermont, with Biden sweeping the rest. It’s still a decent set of results for Sanders in the abstract, but he was looking to emerge […]
The Suez crisis and the dream of the US trade deal that lives on and on – and how it is always discussed on the wrong terms
At the heart of the right-wing flavour of British Euroscepticism lives a dream trade deal with the United States of America (for reference, the heart of Lexit is communism in one country, so take heart, things could be even worse). It has always been there, going back to the mid-2000s and the rise of UKIP. […]