September 10th 2014
A New Relationship
*This note was commissioned from a SNP insider and Lodestone Associate Scotland moving towards independence is part of long process. The SNP was formed in 1934 but it wasn’t until the late 60s that an...
August 22nd 2014
Out in the Cold
Scottish Referendum - 18 September 2014 *This note was commissioned from a Scottish Labour insider and Lodestone Associate Summary Scottish independence would mean: - a new currency - initially 'sterlingisation', the unilateral adoption of the...
July 17th 2014
The Final Countdown
The deckchairs on Mr. Cameron’s Titanic were not so much rearranged as entirely re-upholstered this week, as he sought to put in place a top team fit for a general election. Many have described the...
May 23rd 2014
Not London Calling
Why do people vote UKIP? That is going to be the take-home question from today’s local election results – and, indeed, from the Europeans which will be announced over the weekend. It is clear now...
March 19th 2014
'The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover'
George Osborne’s Budget was his attempt to balance his fiscal conservatism against Robert Halfon’s call for the Tories to remodel themselves as ‘The Worker’s Party’. Working class leisure - from beer to bingo – was...
March 1st 2014
Eastleigh Blues
Eastleigh is a political disaster for the Conservative Party and has plunged backbenchers (especially those in marginal seats) into despair. The fractious relationships at the top of both Coalition parties threaten both Clegg and Cameron...
February 14th 2014
Après moi, le deluge
With much of Southern Britain submerged, and a by-election in Wythenshawe and Sale East, February has brought a deluge of political news and provided a bumper start to the final full year of this Government...
January 10th 2014
Fear and Loathing in 2014
2014 is the year when manifestos will start to be written and clear blue water established between the three main parties – policy asks and policy risks will both come to the fore for politically...
October 10th 2013
The Lucky Generals
The battlelines of the next General Election are a lot clearer following the Conference season and the reshuffles. Nick Clegg – in his now annual defeat of a grassroots motion (this time on austerity) –...
June 27th 2013
Spending Round 2013
Political Briefing This week’s announcements on Government spending, by the Chancellor George Osborne, mark the start of the long General Election campaign. The course for 2015 is now set, the rhetoric of infrastructure investment being...
March 20th 2013
Aspiration Nation vs. One Nation
Budget day opened with the debut of George Osborne on Twitter. A bold move for the ‘submarine’ Chancellor who likes to remain out of sight. With the economy in apparent paralysis and most alternative...
October 22nd 2012
All to Play For...
Now the dust has settled from the Conference season, and we pass what could potentially be this Parliament’s ‘half time’, the Conservative troops are becoming restless. The modernising project of the early Cameron years is...