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Author: David Herdson

With the French Republican primary run-off tomorrow David Herdson wonders why doesn’t France use AV

With the French Republican primary run-off tomorrow David Herdson wonders why doesn’t France use AV

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Their stupid voting system could let in an unpopular extremist Just as one never-ending presidential election ends, another begins. France goes to the polls again tomorrow to pick the centre-right candidate of Les Républicains; their choice being between former prime minister Alain Juppé and former prime minister François Fillon. Fillon is the extremely strong favourite (1/16 with Ladbrokes, to Juppé’s 8/1); a remarkable turnaround given that the polls in the week of the first round of the primary indicated a…

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What if Trump does prefer Putin over Juncker?

What if Trump does prefer Putin over Juncker?

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And where would that leave the Brexit process? A weary-sounding Jean-Claude Juncker told students in his home state of Luxembourg last week that “we will need to teach the president-elect [i.e. Donald Trump] what Europe is and how it works”. In doing so, he erred badly, not for the first time. You can hear the derision dripping from the words, as, no doubt can the chief occupant of Trump Tower; not someone known for brushing off condescension. If Juncker is…

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It’s not neo-fascism, it’s the classic variety

It’s not neo-fascism, it’s the classic variety

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Trump being sworn in — political cartoon gallery pic.twitter.com/bAlxBrbv2d — Political Cartoon (@Cartoon4sale) November 10, 2016 Never mind if he meant it or not, Trump campaigned on it Fascist. It’s a word that could have been designed to be spat out as an insult. The first syllable invites you to screw up your face and the second is little more than a glorified hiss. And a very good insult it is, one that’s easily thrown at anyone seeking to implement…

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The government should resign if the Courts prevent it from invoking Article 50 by itself

The government should resign if the Courts prevent it from invoking Article 50 by itself

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Brexit is too important to be left to the whims of unelected peers Why should an advisory referendum be binding? That is the question at the heart of the government’s determination to invoke Article 50 without going to parliament. It’s a difficult – but not impossible – case to argue, and one I will argue. It’s not a political argument. The case there is far simpler. Firstly, there is the risk that the process might be blocked altogether, were the…

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Conservative David Herdson wonders whether Theresa May’s meritocracy is actually a mirage

Conservative David Herdson wonders whether Theresa May’s meritocracy is actually a mirage

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Why the nomination for Yorkshire’s Tory MEP will be a key test Prime ministers are inevitably remembered for their great achievements and their great failings: Attlee’s welfare state, Thatcher’s Falklands, Thatcher’s Poll Tax, Blair’s Iraq, and so on. Theresa May’s first ministry will be defined by the success or failure of Brexit. If it’s a failure, her first ministry will be her only one. But beneath the towering achievements and epic failures, governments leave a much broader legacy in the…

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Why are the Lib Dems partying like it’s 1993?

Why are the Lib Dems partying like it’s 1993?

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They’re another party that has returned to comfort-zone politics They have learned nothing and forgotten nothing. So Talleyrand said of the Bourbons and so much the same might be said of the Lib Dems today. If there’s one thing that we should take from the Witney by-election campaigns, it was the extent to which 2010-15 are now for the Lib Dems non-years. With the disagreeable business of actually holding power and being able to do something with it now behind…

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Trumpgate could gift the Democrats the jackpot

Trumpgate could gift the Democrats the jackpot

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Some things just sound better in German. pic.twitter.com/GNjF5beLum — Jimmy Rushmore (@JimmyRushmore) October 14, 2016 The down-ballot races could result in both Houses going Blue Donald Trump is not a happy man. That’s not of itself news: Donald Trump is hardly ever a happy man – when did you last see him crack a relaxed smile? But all the same, he’s a particularly unhappy man at the moment. We know this because he’s lashing out at individuals, which is what…

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Welcome to the new gerontocracy

Welcome to the new gerontocracy

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The pendulum has swung against the cult of youth. Why? So much for reconciliation and unity. So much for Shadow Cabinet elections. In an act that was at once decisive and divisive, Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle this week has made absolutely clear that there is no new start. As he said at the time of his re-election, “sadly for everyone I’ll be the same Jeremy Corbyn.” And so he is. Carrying out a snap reshuffle without forewarning is in fact good…

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