People will ask me sometimes on social media why I don’t seem to write about the Lib Dems, well, pretty much ever these days. The reason isn’t sinister or suspect: there just hasn’t been that much to write about from my angle since May 7th, unfortunately. But there is finally something in the news that […]
Yes, immigration can be a good thing. Say it out loud, it feels good
I was on the Jon Gaunt programme a few mornings ago, discussing why I thought Britain should be in the EU. As you can imagine, Jon and I were on very different sides of the argument. There was one moment where he looked to catch me out, maybe get me mumbling, when he asked if I […]
On the two month anniversary of Corbyn winning the leadership, what does the future look like for Labour?
I take you all the way back to September 12th, 2015, and for those of us who followed the story closely, the inevitable became reality: Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party with 60% of the vote. In the build up to this, I thought Corbyn would experience a sort of honeymoon period […]
Would leaving the EU lead to the troubles in Northern Ireland restarting?
Usually when national polls are done, on either voting or any other topic, Northern Ireland is not included. There are many reasons for this, most notably because Nord Iron’s party political system is very different and so thus asking them whether they want Labour or the Tories to have a majority in the House of […]
Is UKIP really about to go bust? What that might mean
Yesterday, The Daily Mail ran an article entitled, “Ukip on brink of going bust: Party hit by huge fall in members after flop election“, which sort of did what it said on the tin. While one should always be careful not to take too much account of what the Mail might say about anything, the […]
The western press has developed a cavalier approach to liberal democracy of late, hasn’t it?
Late last week, social media alerted me to a TIME article entitled, “Azerbaijan Is an Oasis of Tolerance in the Middle East“. If that title didn’t cause you to at least raise your eyebrows if not laugh out loud, you probably don’t know much about Azerbaijan. I have spent time in Caucasian country in question, […]
Why a debate in parliament on David Cameron’s premiership is meaningless
Some people out there are getting very het up about the fact that a petition to have a no-confidence vote on David Cameron as prime minister is closing in on the 100,000 signatures mark. The significance of the six-figures is that once the petition reaches this many signatories, it can be considered for a debate […]
The really sad thing about last night’s #MillionMaskMarch was this
I recall being sixteen and going to a “protest march”, for no other real reason than because I was trying to get off with a girl who really wanted me to attend it with her. As we travelled to the site of the protest, I have to confess I didn’t even know what we were […]
The Labour Party reminds a bit of “The Long Good Friday” at the moment
“The Long Good Friday” is perhaps the quintessential British gangster film (it’s only real competition being “Get Carter”). Bob Hoskins plays the lead role, that of a London gangster who is trying to move into mainstream business. Along the way, one of his lackeys gets into trouble with the IRA, stealing some money off of them […]
I have no idea if there really is a financial crash imminent, but if it happens it will help the Tories, not the Left
Over the weekend, I read a fascinating article from Paul Mason about how not only is another financial crash a la 2008 just around the corner – it may already have begun. It was the usual Mason shtick: moments of genuine insight accompanied by gaping holes in logic. Let’s dissect Mason’s argument: the whole reason […]