Preface: the Labour Party does not make this list, or indeed, even come close to doing so. At present, they do not constitute an opposition of any description. Yet politics abhors a vacuum, so other forces have inevitably filled the void, albeit not as well as a unified, real official opposition would do.
- The SNP
Even a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have put this number one, but watching the usually assured May make several missteps this past week as a direct result of Nicola Sturgeon, I have to reward them with top spot, at least for the time being. May’s statement on the timing of an Indy Ref 2 was a prime example of how much Sturgeon is rattling the government at present.
2. The 1922 Committee
This bastion of the right of the Conservative Party is what keeps Theresa May up at night. They managed to get a remarkably quick climb down from the Treasury on the self-employed NICs issue, and there will be more of that to come. This bunch will end up shaping Brexit more than anyone else, which is remarkable.
3. The right of centre press
Yet we can’t lay the credit for the NICs U-turn entirely at the feet of right-wing Tory ultras. Some of it must go to right-leaning media outlets, who were unsparing in their criticism of the budget. These guys are shaping Brexit in a remarkable way themselves, as May fears her “get the Kippers on board” strategy heavily depends on keeping the Daily Mail happy.
4. The House of Lords
They can be shown to cave in rather easily, but that is convention, not their Lordship’s fault. For perspective, the upper house managed to at least get a majority for the rights of EU citizens and a meaningful vote in parliament on the final Brexit deal in one of the houses of parliament. Put that up against Corbyn’s sorry capitulation.
5. The Lib Dems
Having only nine MPs, it is hard to have impact. Yet the Liberal Democrats have managed to forge a niche by being the one national anti-Brexit party. Put it this way: compare winning Richmond Park off the Tories to Labour losing Copeland and you can see why I’ve put the LDs on the list.
I’ll stop there. The only question left is this: how many more entities/people would I have to list before I ranked the current Labour leadership in terms of opposition? Not sure of the number I would give them, but they’d be between the Socialist Workers Party and the Swedish Embassy, probably in the mid-thirties.
A little harsh on the Swedish Embassy, surely? And I’m not sure how to differentiate the Labour leadership from the SWP, either.
I think you’re wrong about the SNP: they have a symbiotic relationship with the Tories where mutual “opposition” benefits them both, just like in GE 2015.
Though of course ultimately there will have to be a reckoning and either the Union or the SNP will go down in flames.
I agree with Aaron – Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are not “opposition” to the May administration because they can’t threaten May’s hold on power, and they don’t want to frustrate her policy programme (they want independence more than they want to keep England in the EU)