June 24th 2016
Memo from Brussels: Brexit
In Brussels this morning the sun came up, obscured as always by clouds, and the roads were clogged as usual – even more so because of a general strike that has paralysed the entire...
June 24th 2016
All Over Now
With the victory of Vote Leave in the referendum we are living in a political world turned upside down. Nigel Farage has had his Triumph and the political establishment has been dealt a mighty...
June 1st 2016
Memo from Brussels
The mood among Cameron’s counterparts in the European Council – the heads of state and government of the EU’s 28 member states – is largely resentful and unsympathetic. None of them are truly expecting...
May 7th 2016
New York State of Mind
You'll be forgiven a slight sense of déjà vu. When Donald J. Trump first announced he was running for President the news was greeted with knowing laughs. He would be quickly and roundly exposed...
April 28th 2016
Good Kid, Mad City
Zac Goldsmith is a nice man. Everyone says so, from ex-brother-in-law Imran Khan to many of the environmental activists and Green Party types that he has campaigned alongside for years. He is also rich, good...
April 13th 2016
Pirates of the Caribbean
One of the most durable sources of progressive frustration in UK politics has been the steadfast refusal of the electorate to accept that it is not rich. Logical, Fabian arguments for higher taxation have often...
March 21st 2016
From a Whisper to a Scream
Back in 2003 Iain Duncan Smith, fresh from delivering a 'back me or sack me' turn at his party conference, was digging in as Leader of the Conservative Party. His close advisors, including a...
March 16th 2016
Budget 2016
This afternoon’s Budget 2016 was a far cry from George Osborne’s triumphant Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review 2015 just a few short months ago, where he ringfenced numerous government departments, u-turned on tax...
January 22nd 2016
Up all night to get lucky
For understandable reasons, the attention of the Westminster bubble (and indeed, of these notes) has been captured of late by the ongoing shenanigans at the top of the Labour Party. Every day has brought...
January 8th 2016
He's behind you!
A lot of politics is theatre. There's the story-telling, of course. You have to recite other people's words with freshness and sincerity but also learn how to improvise when it all starts to go...
December 18th 2015
Look to the future now, it’s only just begun
MPs depart for their Christmas break after an extraordinary year in British politics. Like a failing, long-running TV show, democracy has served up a series of increasingly unbelievable and outlandish plot twists in 2015. It's...
November 27th 2015
You can run on for a long time
George Osborne delivered his Comprehensive Spending Review and Autumn Statement this week with his back to the wall, looking out from a tight political corner. Weighed down by promises made in the heat of an...
October 2nd 2015
Born to run
The last of 2015’s season of political festivals sees the Conservative Party descend on Manchester next week. The boys and girls in blue have much to celebrate and will not be shy about it. For...
September 24th 2015
Reason to believe
Sections of the Labour clan gather in Brighton next week for a family reunion that will be charged with resentment for some and jubilation for others. The results of the Leadership contest are still...
September 19th 2015
Dancing in the dark
This weekend the Liberal Democrat Party gathers in Bournemouth for their annual conference. There is not a great deal for them to celebrate, aside from having finally been liberated from their two-year conference deal...