I grew up in close-knit former mining villages in East Durham—places not unlike Seaham, a town I know well. For years, I was a regular at the Seaham Food Festival, which takes place again this weekend. Where I’m from, solidarity mattered. People stuck together and looked out for each other. These were the kinds of … Read more
With a couple of days to digest we can start and see some trends emerging from the rubble of the Conservative Party Labour were expected to win a landslide with 40%+ of the vote. In the end they won a landslide with a much lower vote share, with other parties also doing incredibly well. … Read more
There seems little point in reviewing all of the manifestos as most people by now have made up their minds. Instead I want to address a question I heard a few times. “Labour and Tory are they both the same”? Instinctively the answer is no.. Politics has become incredibly polarised and the gap between Labour … Read more
A small wet man has called a General Election, and lots of people are looking forward to multiple Portillo moments. For those too young to remember the 1997 General Election Michael Portillo was an unpopular cabinet minister who lost his seat to a young Labour candidate. It came to symbolise the crushing defeat the Tories … Read more
This week Rachel Reeves delivered the Mais lecture, setting out Labour’s economic policy. For those who don’t follow such things the Mais lecture takes place at the Bayes business school in London, and for a future Chancellor of the Exchequer this is a big thing. This is where Nigel Lawson explained Thatcherism, Gordon Brown … Read more
One of the lesser known parts of a UK General Election are the meetings between the main opposition party and the civil service. In the months approaching a potential change in Government the main opposition party presents it’s programme for government to the civil service. Sometimes, like 1997, this is a detailed programme … 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
“Just remember how you felt on that dreadful morning of June 10th, just remember how you felt then, and think to yourselves: June the Ninth, 1983, never ever again will we experience that.’” This was Neil Kinnock’s first speech to Labour Conference as leader. He had started the process of taking the Labour back from … Read more
