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It’s November. It’s not the midterms. Instead it’s the mid-midterms. When we see a couple of interesting elections. Let’s run through them shall we: New York Mayoral Election Communist/Democratic Socialist v Total Scumbag v Guardian Angel I think the Republicans could have won this. As it is, I suspect Mamdami takes it, especially given Trump’s decision to endorse the Total Scumbag. National readthrough level… low Virginia State Offices You know what happens whenever a new President is elected? The Virginia…

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When I was about eleven years old, my father bought a very in-vogue business book: The Goal. Being precocious, I read it. And then, about twenty years later I reread it. And then about ten years after that, I read it a third time. The story is a simple one: a man is a factory manager, and things are going badly, and they’re going badly because the factory isn’t efficient, and all the things he thinks increase efficiency decrease it….

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Britain has a problem. Well, obviously, Britain has loads of problems. But there’s one that really bugs me, and that is the question of how we look after granny when she can no longer look after herself. The facts are stark. In 2021, there were around 11 million people aged 65+ in the UK. By 2040, that’ll hit nearly 15 million. That’s an army of silver-haired citizens, and a growing share will need residential care. The trouble? Care homes are…

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Over the next couple of weeks we’re making some behind-the-scenes changes to [Politicalbetting’s plumbing. The short version: we’re moving the site behind Cloudflare, the world’s most widely used network for keeping websites fast, reliable, and resilient when people make outrageous claims about the benefits of pineapple on pizza. The process has three steps: first, we’ll move our DNS to Cloudflare. Then we’ll transfer the domain registration. Finally, we’ll switch on proxying, which is the bit that really boosts speed and…

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Just three and a half more years of President Trump! (Assuming the 22nd Amendment can’t be undone by Executive Order, of course. I mean, perhaps they meant consecutive terms, and just forgot to put the word in there. The master of originalism (when it’s convenient) – Clarence Thomas – might certainly go for that. Anyway. The midterms approach. In just a year and a bit. And midterms are usually a referendum on the incumbent.  So,  how’s President Trump doing? In…

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History, as we know, tends to pivot on the smallest of decisions. One such decision came in the autumn of 1978 when Prime Minister Jim Callaghan chose not to call a general election, leading to the “Winter of Discontent” and the downfall of his Labour government. But what if Callaghan had gone to the country in October 1978, as many of his advisers urged, and secured a narrow but workable majority? Britain’s political, economic, and geopolitical trajectory could have been…

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The British constitution, much like a badly organised school sports day, has always valued tradition over efficiency. And among the most venerable traditions of our great nation is the appointment of people to the House of Lords not because they have led with honour, wisdom, or humility—but because, well, someone has to keep the red benches warm. Enter Amanda Spielman. Now, before the mob gathers outside Westminster with pitchforks and strongly worded tweets, let’s get one thing clear: this isn’t…

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Dear Herr Merz, President Trump is about to impose swingeing tariffs with the goal of reducing the US’s bilateral trade deficit with Germany and the EU. And I know, the temptation is to respond in kind, and demonstrate that you have agency. Don’t. It is stupid and counter-productive, and the impact on European and German voters would be severe. Instead, I would like to suggest an alternative approach: do absolutely nothing. Why? Well, three reasons. Firstly, the impact on US demand for European…

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