Many, myself included, thought Cameron played a blinder when he managed to bully the networks into running the “debate” schedule he wanted, i.e. one without a head to head with just he and Miliband being involved. The idea at the time ran that since Miliband would be coming into the whole thing with such low […]
Did Labour just forget about this glaring problem for them when they wrote their manifesto?
I take you back to 2012, when the plans to reform the House of Lords were shelved. Nick Clegg announced that as a result of this, the Lib Dems would vote against the boundary changes as proposed by the Tories. However, this only amounted to a temporary delay: the new boundaries, equalising the constituency sizes […]
The Grant Shapps Wiki-scandal: the substance free election campaign rolls on
Yesterday, the story of the moment was an allegation that Grant Shapps has been doctoring various Wikipedia pages; those of other Tory MPs he’s not all that find of, i.e. most of them, apparently. Shapps vigorously denies any involvement and says he’s the victim of a smear campaign. But on the story goes. Mostly because, […]
The general election as seen through the prism of “Game of Thrones”
Some time back I wrote an article comparing the current state of British politics to the original Star Wars trilogy. In response, I received many a request to give Westminster the Game of Thrones treatment. Problem was, I didn’t really see how it all fit; I just couldn’t puzzle out how all of those murderous […]
Labour seem totally unprepared for what’s about to hit them
The surprise of the election campaign thus far has been the fact that Labour seem to still be slightly ahead in the polls. As things stand, unless there’s some sort of late surge towards the Tories, Ed Miliband will be in prime position to form the next government. This is a position for which he […]
Is the SNP surge the future of British politics?
In the wake of the seven way leaders debate a couple of weeks ago, many a left-winger took to social media to ask “Can I vote for the SNP if I live in England?” The answer is, of course, no and more pertinently, will never be yes. The SNP are specifically a party relevant to […]
My review of last night’s #bbcdebate for the “challengers”
As I said in my preview to last night’s debate, this pretty much came down to Miliband v Sturgeon with some background fuzz. Wood made a valiant start, not even mentioning Wales once in her introduction. However, she just couldn’t help herself and soon enough had a sort of Cymru related tourettes condition throughout most […]
My preview of tonight’s “challengers” debate
This evening, the BBC hosts a “challengers” debate, one involving five of the seven from last time, so minus the “governing leaders”, namely Cameron and Clegg. The idea, I suppose, is to give voice to those party leaders who haven’t been governing recently or ever, but may be doing so in the future. Or something […]
What does it really mean to be “left-wing” anymore?
When I was a teenager, I thought of myself as left-wing. I loathed conservatism with every fibre of my being: the idea that those who were born without wealth somehow automatically deserved that lowly position in the socio-economic scheme of things made me furious; the xenophobia of nationalism I despised; the persecution of minorities and […]
The Lynton Crosby led Tory campaign is directed at UKIPers, not swing voters – which is why Cameron is in trouble
I’ve never thought the Tories bringing back Lynton Crosby to run their 2015 election campaign was a good idea. I said so two years ago on the New Statesman website, comparing Crosby to Monty Panesar (makes sense in context, trust me). I now feel vindicated given the Tories’ poor start to the campaign. But while […]