The answer is probably. There are ways in which Brexit avoids extreme constitutional difficulties, but they are becoming trickier to spot. First there is the nations problem. This has been overplayed in the media, but is still a real issue. Putting aside Scottish independence concerns, it appears that it’s already nailed on that Northern Ireland […]
This was the problem with the EU referendum – and how that problem led us to where we are now
There’s been a lot of talk about the nature of democracy of late in Britain. It has been shaped by the idea that to oppose the referendum result is inherently undemocratic – it’s the will of the people, goddamnit, is heard a lot now, particularly from the Conservative side of the House. What it has […]
What does coming in second in Witney actually mean for the Lib Dems?
I have been striking a note of caution for a while now about the potential for the Lib Dems to rise from the ashes. Local by-election results have been seized upon by both Lib Dem supporters and detractors as proof of the party being born again – I have been less convinced. Despite the Brexit […]
Why liberals shouldn’t cheer the death of UKIP too much
It is looking increasingly desperate for UKIP. Despite protestations from Farage to the contrary, UKIP appear to be financially insolvent. Political parties often carry debts higher than the man on the street might think, but UKIP’s problem is that they’ve just been through a series of shambolic incidents that has dented their credibility massively, while […]
The isolation of the Cameroons may end up being Theresa May’s undoing
Many in the Cameron camp thought that May would be the continuity candidate. Sure, she’d have to give a lot of jobs to Eurosceptics in the wake of the Leave vote, but it would be a show of reconciliation from within the same basic camp within the Tory party. But that is not how it […]
Brexit MPs want to subvert parliament – in order to make parliament supreme again?
Priti Patel said in an interview over the weekend that anti-Brexit MPs were, quote, “using Parliament to subvert the will of the British public”. I wish she and other Brexiteers could see that this statement makes absolutely no sense and contains an obvious logical error in its intended meaning. The whole point of the unwritten British […]
Keir Starmer demonstrates how easily Labour could be a more effective opposition
He’s only been in the job for five minutes but already the new shadow minister for Brexit has done more to present an effective opposition in regards to his brief than Corbyn and his entire previous shadow cabinet had been able to in the previous three and a half months. In his first time at the box, […]
What happens when both Left and Right no longer care about the free market?
Devotion towards the free market has been a cornerstone of the Conservative Party for a very long time. At moments in the 20th century it was tempered with what would in the Thatcher years be painted as “wet” concern for equality; yet the idea that markets and the individualism that makes them work has been core to the […]
I thought Corbyn would at least drag British politics leftward – he’s done the opposite
When Jeremy Corbyn became the surprise leader of the Labour party in September 2015 (surprise as in no one gave him a chance at the outset of the contest – obviously we all knew it was inevitable well before the result was announced), I thought that amongst all the very negative things this would do for Labour and […]
Have UKIP missed their post-Brexit moment already?
It was not a great week just gone for UKIP. The resignation of their leader 18 days after having been elected, followed by one of the favourites to take over the reins being hospitalised – after a fight with another UKIP MEP. Shambolic barely covers it. Truth is, it has been terrible for UKIP pretty […]