In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, some on the British Left were seeking a silver lining. I’m sure it didn’t take them long to find it. Everyone said Trump couldn’t win because of the polls – everyone says Jeremy Corbyn can’t win because of the polls – Jeremy Corbyn is going to be prime […]
If the Supreme Court upholds yesterday’s ruling, it will actually be the best thing imaginable for Theresa May
The government were disappointed by the High Court ruling yesterday that stated parliament needs to be the one to trigger Article 50, not the government via Royal Prerogative. While May needs to make as big a show of disappointment about this in public as possible, in private she may be very glad about the decision […]
How the Left is losing the cultural war, bit by bit
There is a train of thought that says that during the 20th century, the Right won the economic argument – the triumph of capitalism over socialism – while the Left won the social, cultural argument – that liberalism in these spheres won out over social conservatism as we witnessed civil rights, women’s rights, and minority rights […]
My ideas for how the centre-left could regenerate itself in Britain
Just prior to Labour Party conference in Liverpool (and the announcement of the leadership election result), I put out a paper on how the centre-left could regenerate itself once the Corbyn project has played itself out. I decided to revisit it now – this article forms the basis of a brief summary. If you want […]
Why the Richmond Park by-election outcome may actually be important for the Labour Party
Several key Labour figures called for the party not to field a candidate in the Richmond Park by-election, including Lisa Nandy and Clive Lewis. The logic went like this: Labour have no real hope of winning the seat, and by running a candidate they risk splitting the anti-Goldsmith vote and allowing him to win. The […]
It isn’t the “Westminster elites” who are trying to keep the UK in the customs union – it’s these folks
In the wake of the whole Nissan thing, we’ve had Labour asking for transparency on “the deal” and Nigel Farage, predictably, crowing about how the dreaded “political elites” are going to “betray Brexit” by keeping the UK in the European customs union. While I applaud Labour asking about the Nissan deal in the abstract, it […]
Why I wish there was a pro-Heathrow candidate standing in Richmond Park
I suppose I shouldn’t care so much about this given I don’t live in Richmond, but I wish there was a pro-Heathrow candidate standing in the by election, now to be held on December 1st. It feels wrong that there isn’t. Labour could do the honourable thing and run a pro-Heathrow candidate. There are plenty […]
Corbyn decides to be the leader of the opposition at long last
Okay, credit where credit is due here: Jeremy Corbyn was very good at PMQS yesterday, while Theresa May was genuinely awful. I never thought I’d type that sentence but here we are. Of course, it was mostly because Corbyn went after her on Brexit, easily her least favourite topic of discussion, finally, finally doing so […]
Why Theresa May’s decision to not run a candidate in Richmond is profoundly stupid
For those who have not yet heard, Zac Goldsmith has resigned as MP for Richmond Park over the government’s announcement that Heathrow airport will be allowed to expand capacity. After a rather tepid speech in the House, all things considered, Zac said he would quit and thus a by-election would be held. In which he would run […]
The Heathrow problem and how it may foreshadow Brexit
The decision to approve Heathrow airport has been “taken” by the government. The reason for the quotations in the last sentence is what has me worried – not about airport expansion but rather about Brexit. The cabinet has decided as a whole that Heathrow should be allowed to expand. Only there is apparently still a long […]