Someone I know who I would never have thought would say anything like the following told me recently: “Getting Corbyn as prime minister for a bit is looking not as bad as what the Tories might be capable of doing, on Brexit and on other things as well.” This is the major danger the Tories […]
If “no deal” Brexit turns into a disaster, the Tories will be out of power for a generation
I, as some of you who read my stuff often will know, am much more optimistic about the Conservative Party’s chances of winning the next general election, whenever that may be, than most people who write about this stuff. There are many reasons for that which I won’t rehash for you now, but a lot […]
Is Theresa May really that bad a prime minister? An except from “Apocalypse Delayed”
This is a truncated excerpt from my new book, “Apocalypse Delayed: Why the Left is Still in Trouble”. If this interests you enough to want to read the rest, it is available here. One of the key features of the 2017 general election was what could be termed the “presidential aspect”: the relevant party leaders […]
Why the idea of a “progressive alliance” is a bad one – an excerpt from “Apocalypse Delayed”
The following is an excerpt from my book “Apocalypse Delayed: Why the Left is Still in Trouble”. If this is anyway interesting to you, you can find the book here. After the exit poll came out at 10 p.m. on 8 June 2017, the BBC interviewed several pundits on what it all meant. Zoe Williams […]
Why Theresa May needs to reshuffle her cabinet, extensively and quickly
Shockwaves from the speech disaster are still feel being felt. Grant Shapps was on Radio 4 this morning, urging an immediate leadership contest. “We can’t go on like this” he said. While Tory MPs are loath to have an election for a new leader just this second, May is starting to make it more likely […]
Why 2017 Labour conference was a lot like the 2015 Tory conference
It always feels good to get home after Tory conference every year, having successfully survived not only the Conservative conference but those that preceded it. One of the most interesting things about going to the different party conferences is seeing how much they vary in feeling on the ground compared to how they often get […]
Theresa May should sack Boris the moment Tory conference is over
Writing the Telegraph article the week of the Florence speech should have been bad enough to earn Boris a sacking. The fact that he is continuing to cause problems for May tells us that he is almost certainly looking to get sacked. May should give him what he appears to want, and as soon as […]
The post in which I break down the basic problem now facing a “no deal” Brexit
After May’s Florence speech, some Brexiteers have become a little miffed. Not enough to actually do anything about it like, say, bringing down a lame duck prime minister and installing one of their own in Number 10, but you know, still a wee bit peeved as these things go. For those of you out there […]
Here’s why centrism is in so much trouble right now
The Left have come up with a new phrase to shame centrists with: Centrist Dad. I have to admit, they nailed it this time. Having spent ages trying to tar centrists with “Blairite” or even “Tory”, they have figured out what most centrists hate to be associated with – middle-aged timidity. The idea is that […]
Why don’t the same standards apply to anti-semitism as to other forms of racism amongst the Left?
A new rule around combatting anti-Semitism has been adopted by the Labour Party at their conference in Brighton. Good, glad to hear it. Except that surrounding it was a heated battle that hasn’t abated within the party. On stage during the debate regarding the motion, several figures stood up any said the party was trying to […]