One of the big things to come from this year’s budget (other than the sugar tax and endless speculation about what Osborne is up to and whether it will work or not) was the cuts to disability benefits. What’s interesting about for me about the debate on the right is that cuts to disability benefits […]
Budget 2016: it’s amazing how far George Osborne suddenly feels from being prime minister
Only a few short months ago, it was accepted wisdom within Westminster that George Osborne was going to become the next prime minister. “The one chart that shows how George Osborne is almost certainly going to be our next Prime Minister,” the Independent declared back before 2015 conference season, and that is but one of […]
It’s obvious now what Labour should have done after the 2015 election
Having just read the full report on Labour’s loss in May 2015, helpfully supplied by Stephen Bush at the New Statesman (the report, not the election result, just to be clear), I have come to finally understand what it was that the Labour Party should have done after losing the election. Some have speculated that […]
Does the Dan Jarvis Demos speech mean the start of a coup against Corbyn?
Yesterday, Labour MP Dan Jarvis gave a speech at the Demos think tank that had some of the political press in a tizzy. “Dan Jarvis sets out his vision for Labour as leadership talk mounts,” announced a Guardian headline. “Labour backbencher Dan Jarvis is to fuel rumours over his leadership ambitions by setting out his […]
Another interesting Tory fault line emerges
George Osborne wants to change Sunday trading laws to better reflect the 21st century society we live in. I guess by that last sentence it is pretty clear where I stand on that particular issue. However, lest anyone charge in to start calling me a Tory (not that I’m not already used to such things), […]
This is why all of our politicians aren’t very good these days
It is not hard to feel more than a little depressed about the current state of politics – or the current state of politicians. Last night I was reflecting about the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president of the United States of America, of Jeremy Corbyn being the only electoral option open in regards to […]
Could the Tories come second in Scotland in May?
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, will today announce a £640 million investment in Scotland. It will be specifically around renewing Trident with an emphasis on how the Tories want to protect the thousands of jobs directly related to Trident and its renewal in Scotland – while Labour wants to scrap the deterrent altogether, a comparison […]
Osborne faces greater threats from his own backbenchers than from John McDonnell
Yesterday’s Treasury Questions were interesting – I mean, for people who could ever find Treasury Questions sessions interesting, obviously. Osborne found them tough going this week, which is rare these days. But it wasn’t because Jon McDonnell had a good week. In fact, even by McDonnell’s incredibly low standards this week’s edition was stunningly poor. […]
Things get worse for Labour: Corbyn hires Varoufakis
There was a piece in the Telegraph yesterday announcing that Corbyn was getting the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, to advise Labour in “some capacity”. At first I thought this was probably the Telegraph blowing nothing up into something, in other words McDonnell had had a coffee with the guy or something, that’s it, […]
Why I’m supporting Sadiq Khan for London mayor
I have been undecided for a while in regards to who I would like to be the next mayor of London. Part of me likes Zac’s rebellious, think outside the box thing. Also, I have worried that Sadiq winning would be a victory for Corbyn. But now I’ve weighed up everything and come to a decision: […]