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McCHAOS.A university-visiting trip to Scotland afforded me the opportunity to take a quick look at the Scottish political landscape. My view will be dismissed as that of an ignorant Sassenach, but Scottish politics seems to be recovering from a major car crash and has been dumped in A&E (for far too many hours) before returning…
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PLAID ROMPED HOME IN CAERPHILLY confirming that political gravity is running away from the traditional Westminster parties. Plaid Cymru stormed to victory with 47% of the vote, Reform UK came second on 36% while Labour collapsed to just 11%. This is the first time since 1918 that Labour has failed to hold the seat and…
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FOREIGN POLICY.Readers paying close attention may have noted that TWOP has assigned 0minutes to covering the important foreign policy issues of Ukraine and Gaza recently. This is not because they are not important: Ukraine must be enabled to win and Israel must be prevented from liquidating the Palestinians who remain in Gaza. What has seemed…
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COMPETENCE ANYONE? Last week’s dominant headache was the collapse of the high-profile Chinese espionage case. Pressure landed on the CPS to explain itself; intelligence figures publicly signalled frustration and the story is now being treated less as legal process and more as a test of governmental competence. For a prime minister who built much of…
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FROM SPIES TO SPENDING CUTS As Keir Starmer wrestles with a security scandal and Rachel Reeves preaches fiscal restraint, the government’s “steady hands” narrative shows early wobbles. It has been another week when Westminster felt less like the sober seat of governance, but more like a failing test of nerve. The China case collapse: Starmer’s…
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SHRINKING SPACE FOR DIALOGUE, REDUCING PERSONAL LIBERTIES, NO MONEY ANYWHERE. “Repeat protest” curbs really do start to threaten freedom of expression Newish Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood extemporised new plans to curb “repeat protests” after nearly 500 arrests at more pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The idea: if you protest too often, the Home Office can decide you are…
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BADENOCH.Neverwhere by (Neil Gaiman) Kemi Badenoch, dreaming of a land where anyone might care what the Conservatives might come up with anytime soon. Even as an enthusiastic A-level History student I found Kemi kicking off with 1780s Manchester a little bit too historical. Badenoch managed to tie this back, in the context of Thursday’s murderous…
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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Keir Starmer, aged 10 The Prime Minister’s claim to love this country while he presides over a party and government that muzzles opponents and random eccentrics rings hollow. As he pays to give away historic and useful overseas military bases while he claims that investment in defence is “vital for our…
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LABOUR PULLS THE EMERGENCY CORD. In their Immigration White Paper “Restoring Control over the Immigration System” published in May 2025, the Labour government proposed extending the qualifying period for “Indefinite Leave to Remain” (ILR) from 5 years to 10 under its “earned settlement” reforms. The proposal did not stir massive controversy at the time. The…
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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BAREFACED. Nigel Farage waved his calculator around promising billions in “savings” from ripping up the UK’s “Right to Remain” while Keir Starmer tried to look statesmanlike by recognising Palestine. Meanwhile, HMG quietly admitted that its big anti-harassment law is still gathering dust. Add in grim inflation figures, a giant…
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SITCOM WITHOUT LAUGH REEL Another week in British politics, another episode of a long-running tragicomedy known as “Government.” The show that nobody asked for, with the scripts that just keep getting worse, and yet, like all truly wretched TV soaps, we just don’t seem to be able to switch off or choose something more enlightening…
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RAYNER’S DECKCHAIRS The first week back at Westminster turned out to be eventful. Writing three days after Angela Rayner’s resignation on Friday and 48 hours after the closing (and rather wobbly) rendition of the National Anthem at REFORM’s Birmingham conference has allowed some time for at least a little reflection on “Whither Labour?”Quick answer: down…