Blair may be a shouty old uncle, but he’s got a point about Corbyn

The Labour Party is like one of those grim kitchen sink dramas set in the Midlands and invariably starring Julie Walters. The family home is a battleground of bad blood and betrayal. Fights erupt at random intervals. Grudges are so enduring even those who hold them no longer remember why. From time to time, the […]

Are zero-hours contracts and a flexible economy our PM’s legacy?

One month on from her disastrous snap election, Theresa May must be heartily sick of everyone lining up to tell her where she went wrong. Pundits, opponents, even her own backbenchers and Cabinet colleagues have been openly scorning the Prime Minister’s strategy and performance. Much of this is deserved; it is unforgivable that a leader […]

The little red books

One of my proudest possessions is a pocket-sized copy of the United States Constitution. It was gifted to me by my friend Jason Bedrick, a school choice advocate and former legislator from New Hampshire, the Live Free or Die state. This tiny edition of modern democracy’s Talmud never leaves my side; I am a devotee […]

Corbyn’s critics left with little choice but to dance to their master’s tune

There’s an old saying in Texas: You gotta dance with the one that brung ya. It’s a blend of southern chivalry and clear-eyed pragmatism. It came to mind more than once in the past seven days. Two things happened in that time that tell you all you need to know about politics. Labour’s unexpectedly enlarged […]

Scotland needed government. It got nationalism instead

As you approach the Scottish Parliament from the Royal Mile, a modest curve juts out from the obnoxious angles. This camber, the Canongate Wall, is studded with 26 slates of Scottish stone each bearing a quotation from the Bible and scriveners of more questionable repute. Among them is the instruction to ‘work as if you […]

Nicola: The figures are wrong. Kez: Eh, they’re yours, actually.

MSPs were heading off for their summer holidays but there was some last-minute business to attend to. Holyrood debated changes to the rules and members lined up to welcome the measures. This strongly indicated they hadn’t read them since they will allow the Presiding Officer to cut MSPs off mid-sentence when they get too long-winded. […]

The lady’s not for turning on independence

The referendum is dead. Long live the referendum. Nicola Sturgeon’s statement to Holyrood was billed as a ‘reset’ of her strategy on independence. She had gambled on anger at Brexit bringing her a majority for independence but the numbers did not materialise. Still, she pressed on, in some desperate hope that she could berate the […]