No Spin. No Waffle. just Politics.
Politics is all around us. From the price of a bus ticket to decisions on climate change, education and defence. For many people, especially young people, politics can feel distant, confusing, irrelevant and boring. This blog is here to help change that because the more we’re involved, the better it will be.
THE BLOG
- Tories, Birmingham 2026
Is that light at the end of the tunnel? Kemi Badenoch has been having quite a good year. The Conservative Party has not. Twelve months ago, Badenoch was still struggling to establish herself with voters and faced periodic speculation about… Read more: Tories, Birmingham 2026 - Hope but no map
Burnham has sketched a destination. The next stage is harder: he needs to provide a map. There has been an unmistakable change of mood in Downing Street. Unlike his predecessor, Andy Burnham has given the Labour government a clear sense… Read more: Hope but no map - Greens, Brighton 2026
Oh Zack! It has been an extraordinary 12 months for the Greens under Polanski: shooting up from 12% in voting intention polls last October, to 21% at the beginning of the year, when it won the Gorton & Denton by-election,… Read more: Greens, Brighton 2026 - Labour, Liverpool 2026
Hoping for some Realism. This task is appointed for you Frodo Andy. Andy Burnham tried to kill off talk of an early election over the weekend, insisting that he would serve out his predecessor’s mandate until 2029. Nevertheless, his first… Read more: Labour, Liverpool 2026 - All in Good Time
Governments are always short of something. Money, parliamentary time, civil servants, public patience and, occasionally, ideas. This week Andy Burnham appeared to be particularly interested in acquiring another scarce commodity: time. In the traditional pre-conference Sunday morning interview (with Laura… Read more: All in Good Time - LibDems, Brighton 2026
Surprising toxicity, stunted ambitions Four days of earnest, well-meaning discussion, sadly trending towards catatonia (not the band.) If you want to know what the climate implications of angora rabbit farming could be, the LibDem conference is where you want to… Read more: LibDems, Brighton 2026 - The Dog that didn’t Bark
Much activity, little consequence. A lot appears to have been happening in Westminster since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. The new leader arrived promising a different sort of government. Policies have been abandoned, spending priorities questioned and relations with Europe… Read more: The Dog that didn’t Bark - …and that’s a wrap
RECESS AGAIN This 4-week conference recess seems creakily antique. Has no-one ever thought of having all the party conferences in the same week? There can be very few people other than journalists who want to attend more than one (and journalists… Read more: …and that’s a wrap - Avoiding Choices
Welfare Reform Proposals. Kemi Badenoch delivered a fairly surgical question at PMQs on Wednesday, questioning the new Chancellor’s own declared reasons for resigning as Defence Secretary just 13 weeks ago: “Is the Prime Minister unable, or is he just unwilling,to… Read more: Avoiding Choices - Upbeat Vibes are not Enough
PMQs was not a close contest this week – but a serious defeat for the PM. Although LotO began predictably enough on defence spending, the PM was unexpectedly knocked out on Question 2 and remained down and out. Mrs Badenoch’s… Read more: Upbeat Vibes are not Enough
