As many regular readers know I am a writer and blogger who has been a keen political observer for more than sixty years. Born a Tory, I became a founder member of the SDP, before gradually migrating left. In 2014 I published my idea Dynamic Quantitative Easing, which aroused some interest in high places. This […]
For those of you who are following the controversy surrounding the government’s decision not to publish the Select Committee’s report on Russian interference in our democracy and public life, here is a conspiracy theory for you to enjoy over coffee. Suppose the report shows a sufficient degree of Russian social media bot accounts and opaque […]
The election campaign is now underway and headlines about opinion polls are beginning to appear, depending on the political leaning of the paper or media outlet, purporting to show a trend or tell a story. The words collapse and surge will be used often. Crumble is another favourite. Several such polls have made comparisons with […]
The answer is, with this unusual election, it is impossible to predict. Once again here are the key points. If the key issue which drives voters is completing Brexit and moving on (even if only to months and years of more negotiations), Boris and the Tories will come out on top, although not necessarily with […]
In 2010 Cameron gained 96 seats for the Tories on 10.7 million votes. In 2017 May lost 13 seats and her majority on 13.6 million votes In 2015 Milliband lost almost every seat in Scotland with a net loss of 26 seats overall on 9.6 million votes In 2017 Corbyn gained 30 seats for Labour […]
In normal elections there is a general feel at the start which way they are likely to go. This time no commentator would dare to predict the outcome. But as a starter post of what are likely to be many, let me leave you with some themes. In England and Wales, if the election is […]
Boris wants an election, but does not have the votes. Even some Tories are scared. Labour as usual says Yes but No. Yes it wants an election but not till no deal is ‘off the table’. It will wait to see what the EU decides about an extension. The EU says Yes to an extension […]
Tonight Boris drops a bombshell. Approve an election and I will give time to scrutinise the Withdrawal Act, so we can leave in an orderly fashion with a deal first. Labour, whose shuffling ambiguities and nuanced murmurings to cover its own disagreements over Brexit have already cost it dear in the polls, putting it 15 […]
The Constitution A gobsmacked world looks on in dismay as the UK slowly throttles itself in a tangle of argument, prejudice, constitutional failure and muddled thinking. So the first reforms are to the constitution. We must repeal the Five Year Parliament Act, restore the royal prerogative of the prime minister to ask for a dissolution […]
Once again parliament has shown it cannot govern. Agreeing Boris’s Brexit deal is pointless if there is no agreement on how to put it into law. The normal structure of government and opposition has to fall away to be replaced by consensus. Getting the Withdrawal Agreement through all stages in two days is not reasonable, […]