Typing out that title seemed weirdly redundant, like calling an article “Water: good cure for thirst”. It is so abundantly obvious that stripping Russia of the 2018 World Cup is the least that should happen post-MH17. Yet a Tory MP described the DPM’s call for this as “pretty amateur” adding that “a great deal is […]
The War in Gaza comes to London: what a mess
I don’t mean the title literally, so relax. It’s just that it is interesting to see how a situation like the one in Gaza manifests itself in a cosmopolitan city like London. On Saturday, there was a pro-Palestine rally held in the West End. The way the event has been covered in the UK media […]
The Rise of the Putinistas
I write about Russia, and by extension, Vladimir Putin, a reasonable amount. As a result, through various social media outlets, I am exposed to a wide range of views on the Russian president. I get some pro-Putin stuff from people inside of Russia, which doesn’t interest me all that much. Most of it is really […]
The Left should watch itself over ideas around a “Health Tax”
I am always suspicious when key elements of the Left and the Right come to the same conclusion. Sometimes of course, this is simply because an idea has “come of age” and is so obvious it gets embraced across the political spectrum. But more times than not, it is because the Left has been slightly […]
Casual Xenophobia – “you know the difference”. Or do you?
A few weeks ago, a person I hadn’t spoken to in a very long time came out of the woodwork. To tweet me. How 21st century. The tweet read: “That’s what we need to hear more from, Canadian Lib Dems”. Now, this person and I had never seen eye to eye politically, so him slagging […]
It’s all about Margaret: why Thatcher remains an electoral millstone around the Tory neck
The cliché about Margaret Thatcher is that she is like marmite, and that Thatcherism is an intrinsically love it or hate it concept. I’m an odd one out on this one. There are things about Thatcher that I liked, admired even, but a great deal I intensely disliked about her policies and her style of […]
Should the Lib Dems remain in government until May 2015 – or pull out early?
In the wake of the recent Oakeshott inspired madness, an argument lays unresolved, both within the Liberal Democrats and in the wider body politic. Should the party remain in government until the end or retreat early, say six months before the election, in order to let the “differentiation strategy” breathe a little? I’ll examine both […]
Labour and Tories need to wake up to the nightmare that minority government would be
James Graham, the esteemed playwright, wrote a piece of drama that I’m sure everyone who is in any way interested in politics has at least heard of entitled “This House”. It follows the travails of the Labour Party under a razor thin majority in the mid-1970’s. Having said this, I wonder how many Labour and […]
The top five failed political coups in British history
In the wake of Lord Oakeshott’s epic failure to unseat Nick Clegg as leader of the Liberal Democrats, I thought it might be fun to look at the top five failed attempts at unseating someone in a position of power in the history of our great nation. 5. Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot (1605) […]
“That” ICM poll and how it seems to be having the opposite effect intended
Yesterday morning, I saw an article on the Guardian’s website written by Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt in which the headlines spoke of a “damning” poll by ICM which showed that the Lib Dems would be wiped out in certain constituencies – including Sheffield Hallam. My heart raced; it certainly looked bad, and at exactly […]