Rishi Sunak called a snap General Election to try and catch Labour on the wrong foot. All he managed to do was wrong foot his own party, leaving them totally unprepared for a campaign which Labour were well up for. By any standards this has been a terrible start to a campaign. Sunak was caught … Read more
Conservatives are in deep trouble. The British Conservatives were wiped out in the latest local elections, and face a similar fate in at the coming General Election. In the US the entire conservative movement is a hostage to the fortunes of Donald Trump, slumped in a court room hearing his most sordid actions read … Read more
This week saw a new low in the House of Commons. Rishi Sunak, under pressure at Prime Ministers Questions relied on a pre-prepared joke about Labour’s position on Trans people while the mother of murdered Trans teenager Brianna Ghey watched on. The Tory benches honked and sniggered, the opposition looked aghast, realising the crassness of the … Read more
Last week I published a very slightly tongue in cheek blog about how the Conservatives might change the outcome of the next election. I hope you don’t mind another one before we get back to serious stuff. On Easter Sunday 2024 The Sunday Telegraph front page has a scoop. Boris Johnson is the new leader of … Read more
I am not a conspiracy theorist, although I love conspiracy theories. Ever since the X Files I have been fascinated by them. I don’t, however, feel the need to believe in them. Except maybe for one political conspiracy theory, about how someone might rig a UK General Election. In 1985 the Representation of the People Act was … Read more
Predictions A Conservative MP will be found guilty of rape/violent sexual assault A Conservative MP will defect to Reform The Conservatives will defend several by-elections and lose all of them (*see below) There will be a UK general election in May. Labour will win with a small, but working majority. There will be widespread Russian … Read more
There has been a lot of noise about HMG handing out contracts to private companies during the Coronavirus crisis without proper tendering. Lots of these contract awards are actually pretty sensible; emergency contracts for ventilators and testing services. There are however some eye watering contracts being awarded, including over £100m for the supply of PPE … Read more
The Tory manifesto is a small, but significant shuffle to the left. In fiscal terms it is probably their most left wing manifesto since Ted Heath, maybe even longer. The headlines are all about spending on health, education and social care: These spending commitments are great, and position to Tories much closer to the centre … Read more
The old myth that foreigners are coming to take your jobs has a new rival – Americans are coming to steal the NHS. Both are equally silly. Why the immigration myth is nonsense One of the great myths spread by right wing politicians is that somewhere in the world there is a hoard of foreigners … Read more
This is the new exciting policy announcement form the Tory Party conference. A radical change in planning permission: This is a sad faced Nick Clegg announcing the same policy almost exactly 7 years ago: I’ve applied for this extension to my house. What can go wrong?