As far as Dave need worry, it’s still Europe that matters most For all the difficulties that have beset Jeremy Corbyn in his first week in charge, when it comes to parliamentary votes, it’s the PM rather than the Leader of the Opposition who should worry. Yes, a more effective whipping operation on the tax credit vote last week would have reduced rather than doubled the government majority but the government would still have won – and a government win…
The front page of this morning’s Guardian about Labour & The EU. Story here. http://t.co/sAgLU56koi pic.twitter.com/qHDLAexzJK — TSE (@TSEofPB) September 16, 2015 One of the underlying assumptions in the EU referendum was Labour and the Trade Union movement would be campaigning vigorously for the United Kingdom to remain a member however with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Leader that assumption needs to be revised. This morning’s Guardian reports “The prospects of Labour opposing British membership of the European Union,…
Ten years ago David Cameron’s victory speech as the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party argued against Thatcher’s famous remark insisting “there is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same as the state.†His vision for a Big Society never proved a campaign hit in its own right, but helped set the tone of a party that was keen to hear many flourish within civil society and for that to drive public services. After 2010 general…
Antifrank looks at The politics of immigration and asylum “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” These are words which find absolutely no purchase in Britain in 2015. Fully 50% this month see immigration as one of the three most important issues facing Britain in Ipsos MORI’s regular poll for the Economist and it’s a safe bet that few of them are concerned that Britain isn’t getting enough foreigners. Proving anything with statistics If one…
What’s next for the Conservatives? Could David Cameron stay on and fight the 2020 General Election? Since the Conservatives somewhat unexpectedly won a majority in May most of the media attention has been focused on who the next Labour leader will be. But what about the Conservatives? As Labour tears itself apart it is easy to forget that the Tories have problems of their own. The party has never really ‘settled’ the issue of Europe and the upcoming EU referendum…
Pulpstar looks at the Dave exit betting Away from the current Labour leadership election and Mayoralty there may just be one or two political bargains on offer.. In his late March interview, David Cameron announced that he would not serve out a third term. Here I take a look at when he may leave and some associated odds: 2015: 50-1 Sky Bet (Cease to be PM) I’d put the odds of the PM leaving this year extremely low. The only…
Nigel Farage was right – using the term “swarm” to describe migrants was a mistake
Is he having second thoughts about his exit date? Following Cameron’s comments in the BBC interview at the end of March there’s a widespread assumption that at some stage this parliament that he’ll step aside and a new CON leader will be elected presumably becoming PM before the May 2020 general election. But is he? The conversation in Cameron’s kitchen came at a time when the election outcome looked very tight. Very few were making assumptions that an overall CON…