Al Murray, the comedian whose act is built around caricaturising a recognisable English archetype, has decided to stand in South Thanet, Kent during the general election in May. The relevance of this particular constituency is obvious: it is where Nigel Farage has decided to plant his flag in the hopes of taking his place amongst […]
A gaze at the polling in key Lib Dem-Tory marginals and then trying to figure out what it means
I have done a few general election predictions over the past month: UKIP target seats, Green target seats, Lab-Tory marginals. I am often asked to do Lib Dem seat predictions. I have elected not to, not because I’m attempting to dodge a bullet; to avoid doing something that may cause me to advise that the […]
The people the bus strike ultimately affected were the poorest in London
Yesterday, if you were in the centre of London, you saw evidence of the chaos that surrounds any industrial action around public transport. There were some buses, but not nearly enough of them for everyone to get to where they had to go. Because south London has no tube, if you live in that part […]
Why is Scottish nationalism somehow “nicer” than English nationalism?
During the independence debate, I found it strange how Scottish nationalism was portrayed in the left-wing press. It was as if it were a force that was unimpeachable; the good guys railing against the bad. The unionist debate was always put forward in a way that was meant to emphasise what they saw as the […]
Why people will tune in to watch an empty chair: the TV debates debate rages on
David Cameron, to recap, has said that he will not take part in the TV leaders’ debates unless the Greens are invited to take part. His sudden empathy and respect for Natalie Bennett has arisen as the situation required it; he needed a way out and this seemed to be it. He has gambled on […]
When will the Chilcot Inquiry see the light of day? And how explosive will it be?
I have long speculated, usually to friends over alcoholic beverages, as to what the content of Tony Blair and George W’s conversations in the lead up to the Iraq War might have been. As many of them are potentially libellous, I shan’t divulge any of my pet theories on the subject here; sufficed to say […]
I think Cameron’s Greens bluff has made the TV debates more likely as opposed to less
After OfCom ruled that the Greens were “not a major party” (but that oddly enough, UKIP were), David Cameron said that he would not take part in the TV debates unless the Greens were invited to take part. The OfCom ruling and the TV debates are not directly linked, but the ruling does make it […]
How will Labour do in their top Lab-Tory targets in May? A seat-by-seat prediction
The following is a prediction of who will win in twelve seats during the general election, all of them currently held by the Conservative Party, all of them by majorities of less a thousand. Meaning, of course, that they constitute what may well be the top Labour targets in terms of taking seats from the […]
What is a liberal reaction to the Charlie Hebdo shooting?
First off, this is so obvious it shouldn’t need saying, but in such shocking times it is best to be clear about as much possible: condemn the atrocity with no equivocation whatsoever. As no one really is offering an unequivocal response, that shouldn’t need saying. But like I say, when a shock to the system […]
Your weekly UKIP round up (it’s been that sort of a week already)
There have been so many brilliant UKIP related pieces of news this week thus far, I figured spending a whole article focusing only on one of them would be a waste. So I’ll run through the best ones – hang on tight. First off, obviously, the website thing. For those who may not be aware, […]