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The Greek ‘settlement’: the lesser evil, but still a disaster

The Greek settlement, or perhaps better the eurozone’s Diktat, is outrageous. It reflects such an intrusive, dictatorial, dirigiste, centralising mindset on the part of those in the control room of the EU (not just...

Dear Ed: an open letter of congratulations to Ed Miliband

Dear Ed, You have earned our congratulations on many grounds. Congratulations on having led Labour so much more successfully than the gloating media pundits and your would-be successors would have us believe. As Ross...

Random reflections after a terrible election (1)

It’s taken a few days to recover from the nasty jolt administered by the exit poll on Thursday night, since when things have only got worse. I had planned to write a blog post...

Polling day diary at what may be the start of a long, long month

Ephems and Mrs Ephems have voted today, early and only once each – or rather twice each, once for Sadiq Khan (our Labour MP presumptive, senior Labour front bench shadow Justice Secretary, London election...

Election Diary (2), 2 May 2015 — E-day minus 5

It begins to look as if Labour’s support is slipping away in England, which is serious, and probably still drifting away in Scotland, which may not affect Ed Miliband’s chances of forming a government...

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...

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,...