Election Diary, 26 April — E-Day Minus 11
Nick Clegg has finally come clean: as far as he’s concerned (and as leader of the LibDems, he’s hardly unconcerned), the LibDems won’t vote to support a Labour minority government: they disagree with the...
Category: Politics
Labour, the SNP, and who forms a government?
It’s a challenge to believe it, but according to reliable reports Jim Murphy, the leader of the Scottish Labour party, has been claiming that whichever of the two main UK parties wins the most...
Ten depressing things about the seven-leader election debate last night
From the viewpoint of a committed Labour party supporter, here are ten things about last night’s television debate that depressed me: 1. The commentariat treated it as a beauty contest, with numerous polls declaring...
Why Labour should be talking now to the SNP, LibDems, etc., in spite of everything
Labour could come second to the Conservatives at the elections in May in another hung parliament and still be able to form the government. That sounds impossible: but it could happen. People, especially LibDems,...
Future of the United Kingdom: the case for a federation
My letter summarising the case for a federation of the four nations of the United Kingdom is published in today’s Guardian (10 February 2015): Politicians must be bold on UK federalism In your editorial...
Jottings for January
The political and economic scenes in Britain are warming up nicely as the general election, due on 6 May, approaches. The leaders of both the main parties are working hard to establish the issue...
Another hung parliament in May? Some myths and a remedy
The poll figures currently suggest that the general election in May will produce another hung parliament, with neither major party likely to win an overall majority of the seats. The commentariat continues to write...
Three new reviews of ‘What Diplomats Do’: read them here
With apologies for returning once more to the subject of my recent (first and last) book, What Diplomats Do, I want to let you know that three new reviews of the book have been...
A brilliant (free) book about a Victorian diplomatic whistle-blower
It’s not often that a fascinating and important new book — in this case about an accomplished diplomat, journalist, whistle-blower, novelist, dissembler and controversial celebrity of Victorian times — is made available, totally free...
Lloyd George in cartoons, by Alan Mumford
Alan Mumford, leading collector of and expert on political cartoons, has produced another in his brilliant series of political cartoon biographies, this time of that always fascinating character David Lloyd George, the Welsh wizard...