Think about the surrealism of the last week in British politics. A Tory chancellor does a huge U-turn on a large set of cuts, mostly because enough of his own party have turned against him on the issue. He gets up to deliver his Autumn Statement, having to dish this out to the House, and […]
Who really deserves the credit for the tax credit U-turn? Let’s remind ourselves, shall we?
Social media is a wonderful thing if you’re of a sociological bent. As John McDonnell gave his response to the Autumn Statement, Corbynites took to Twitter to declare their man victorious. “McDonnell killing Osborne! What a triumph #spendingreview” was typical. Then you scrolled down into your feed to read the press give their take on […]
Reporting of the turmoil within Labour is a double-edged sword
It’s an obvious thing to say, but I’ll say it anyway: the Labour Party is in the midst of burgeoning civil war. Many figures on the left and right wings of the party would prefer to avoid it, at least for now. But it continues to rear its ugly head. The issue of air strikes […]
What exactly is Ed Miliband doing?
We’ve seen and heard little from Ed Miliband since his regrettable resignation speech the day after the general election. Even when the contest for his successor heated up, and many senior Labour figures were begging Ed to say something, anything that might avoid Corbyn becoming leader, he remained silent. Given the rigours of the election campaign, […]
British political history is predictable – and the centre-left is currently in the bad part of the cycle from their perspective
This weekend I watched “To Play the King”, the sequel to “House of Cards”, which was made in 1993. The reason I mention this is because it was amazing how much of the politics of 2015 seem similar in many respects. This made me think further about British political history and I saw for the […]
The current security situation is where the two sides of the right are now clashing
In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Met have issued strong warnings to the Chancellor around police cuts. Some of the planned cuts to the police have been spelled out by Lord Blair, the former Met commissioner in some pretty stark words: “This is the most perilous terrorist threat in our history. The British […]
Who will be the next Labour leader?
Given the good ship Corbyn is going down in flames, I thought it would be fun to have a stab at who might possibly succeed him as leader of the Labour Party. Bear in mind, it’s possible to see a scenario in which another leadership election happens in a year’s time or less: Labour lose the Oldham West […]
Why is Ken Livingstone chairing a defence review? And is there more than a hint of sexism in the appointment?
Let us put aside for now Livingstone’s horrible remarks regarding Kevan Jones and his refusal to apologise until everyone in Westminster had a go at him over it, and even then issuing one that was half-assed at best before apologising in earnest – plenty of others have commented aptly on this already. What I want […]
Does Corbyn actually want to lose elections? It’s become a serious question
Much talk since Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party has focused on the sudden ascent of the far-left of the party, and furthermore how this group of people are more interested in being victorious regarding internal battles within Labour rather than winning external elections. I’ve talked about these issues myself. But now I’m actually starting to […]
Corbyn’s will he/won’t he bow to the Queen has been classic Crosby’s dead cat
Lynton Crosby, the architect of the Tories 2015 general election win, is credited with having established a campaigning tactic known simply as “the dead cat”. It’s remarkably straightforward to explain: you plunk a dead cat on the table. Then everyone discusses the dead cat; some say he was alive before he hit the table, others […]