Have you heard the one about a has-been MP and his fruity festival show?

It was roughly at the fifth S&M joke that I settled in and began to enjoy Alex Salmond’s Edinburgh Fringe show. You would think the former First Minister would have had his fill after being spanked on election night by the Tories. But kinkiness was a running gag in yesterday’s hour-long show, with innuendo aboutContinue reading "Have you heard the one about a has-been MP and his fruity festival show?"

Pride and persuasion

When they convince themselves Grampa Simpson is gay, Marge remarks to Homer: 'He probably doesn’t know how tolerant society has become. They even had a gay float in the Pride parade last year.'  The Pride Wars are now a fixed feature of LGBT politics. Lefties attack the event for being too corporate and apolitical. Tories, not alwaysContinue reading "Pride and persuasion"

Want to Trump the President? Time to take a leaf out of Ruth’s playbook.

Liberalism is a fine idea until you let liberals get their hands on it.  That's when a sensible outlook on life turns rigid, shrill and intolerant. Smugness is the original sin of liberalism, the Tell-Tale Heart of the rational mind. John Stuart Mill is often quoted deriding the Tories as ‘the stupid party’ but ifContinue reading "Want to Trump the President? Time to take a leaf out of Ruth’s playbook."

The false prophets of the ‘new politics’ making promises they cannot keep

Here are some things politics is not. Politics is not a religion – the leader you idolise is a graven image. Politics is not self-help – government is about changing society, not boosting your self-esteem. Politics is not a lifestyle statement – if you are seeking affirmation, try Oprah. If these strike you as statementsContinue reading "The false prophets of the ‘new politics’ making promises they cannot keep"

Jeremy to the left, Ruth to the right… I (almost) feel sorry for the squeezed SNP

There are fleeting moments when I forget myself and start to feel ever so slightly sorry for the SNP. A mere two years ago, it was untouchable. It might have lost the referendum but it had won the war for hearts and minds. Scotland had a majority SNP government at Holyrood, 56 Nationalist MPs atContinue reading "Jeremy to the left, Ruth to the right… I (almost) feel sorry for the squeezed SNP"

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

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

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

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 youContinue reading "Scotland needed government. It got nationalism instead"