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 […]
Why is the British Right so incapable of understanding Trump’s motives? I think I finally get it
Over this weekend, I have found reading articles from right of centre news outlets about the Trump visit and its relationship to Brexit fascinating. They come from a place that can only be arrived at with either a total ignorance of or a wilful disregard for the entire trading history of the United States of […]
My take on why I think the Lib Dems lose people like Darren Grimes to the Eurosceptic Right
A few weeks ago, I read an article by Jonathan Calder, a prominent Lib Dem blogger, entitled “The mysterious Darren Grimes“. It was about how Darren Grimes, head of BeLeave, the now infamous organisation at the centre of the Vote Leave Electoral Commission investigation, was not all that long ago a declared Lib Dem. In […]
Against the grain, I thought Theresa May was actually very impressive yesterday. And I think I know what her plan is now, finally
Yesterday was one of the strangest days in politics I’ve ever seen. In the midst of two cabinet resignations, left-wing commentators had a field day talking about how the end of the government was nigh, while right-wing commentators oddly tried to bring that about themselves, going on and on about the death of Brexit and […]
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 […]
Has Theresa May finally decided to lead?
As the Cabinet gathers at Chequers today, an extraordinary memo has been passed to some journalists from a Number 10 source surrounding what happens if any ministers decide to resign on the spot today (Sam Coates from the Times has put it out on Twitter): “All set for Chequers. Totally focused and confident of delivering […]
Why Corbyn needs to deselect and purge the Labour Party of moderates if he is serious about his stated goals
We live in surreal political times. On Friday, the Cabinet of HM government will meet at Chequers to furiously debate different post-Brexit customs arrangements, all of which have already been rejected by the EU. The political press doesn’t seem able to comment on this, for whatever reason, and is instead entirely focused on the dreary […]
This is what would almost certainly happen if the “true Brexiteers” toppled May
With a crunch Cabinet meeting at Chequers on Friday on Brexit – another “make or break” meeting at Chequers, which as ever is being billed as something from which a fudge cannot emerge – talk switches to what will happen if the ERG group do not get their way. I don’t really even know what […]
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 […]
Has Labour officially stopped trying to bring down the government?
It’s certainly not my place to tell the Labour Party what they should and shouldn’t be doing, but aren’t they, by their own rhetoric, trying to bring down the government? Isn’t their main goal to end May’s premiership in the hopes of bringing on a general election and then winning that plebiscite? Given communication from […]