Category: UK Reform
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Waiting for imaginary negotiations abroad, preparing for inflation at home and governing in the shadow of events with no clear purpose. Welcome to Britain 2026. The Israel–US confrontation with Iran continues to set the UK political tempo. Domestic policy did not stop, but it did feel provisional: as though HMG is waiting to see what…
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Papers & Processes. The week began with the next episode of the already boring Mandelson affair. After the drama of the Humble Address, the release of the files related to his errant Lordship’s appointment proved simultaneously more mundane and yet more revealing than expected. Meanwhile, the Iran war/ “special military operation” dominates the international agenda,…
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Led, legalistically, from frying pan to fire! The scandal that died, a by-election that roared and a war that outwitted Starmer within 24 hours. The week began where the previous tailed off: Epstein adjacency, Mountbatten-Windsor noise and Mandelson hi-jinx.This filled some columns, produced heat and then was abruptly shoved aside by reality. In politics, nothing…
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Succession is not a strategy! Starmer does not seem to have even tried to stabilise the No. 10 operation, he merely changed the cast list. The resignation cycle that began with Morgan McSweeney continues to read less like renewal and more like a government discovering, in public, in real time, that it does not have…
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Overseas: Movement Without Leverage The Prime Minister’s trip to China and Japan was notable less for what it achieved than for what it avoided. Keir Starmer returned with modest diplomatic housekeeping: limited visa facilitation and the reopening of channels with previously frozen parliamentarians. (Rowena Mason, Guardian, 29th January 2026, What agreements have been made during…
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Children, Screens and State Strategy This week Westminster shifted its attention decisively from abstract debates about the future of technology to a policy question: what role should the state play in regulating children’s use of mobile phones and social media? The government launched a national consultation on children’s relationship with digital technology, signalling that ministers…
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AI scandals, Trump theatrics and social media bans Welcome back after a small essay-related delay this week. British politics served up a curious mix of local embarrassment, international showmanship, and domestic debate that looks suspiciously as though we are collectively losing our minds. Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. TWOP is suffering acute symptoms. Here’s the…
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REVOLUTIONS, INVASIONS AND POTHOLES It is a salutary experience to sit down to write a review of UK politics at the end of a week in which Donald Trump threatened to intervene in Iran’s brutal protest crackdown, the United States faced domestic outrage over a fatal shooting by an ICE agent and the former President…
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PEERS, NHS FLU PRESSURE AND A FLICKER OF YOUTH MOBILITY SCHEME HOPE. A Joke at the House of Lords’ expense. On Wednesday HMG announced 34 new Lords, including 25 Labour peers, five LibDems and three Tories. The list includes a slug of second rank (aka “failed”) Labour advisers, including Matthew Doyle, Katie Martin and Carol…
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REEVES CLINGS ON SHAKILY, Lammy shatters ancient constitutional protections casually, Badenoch shows signs of life superficially – the political climate feels very fragile. Rachel Reeves remains in post, although with less authority than Downing Street would like to project. The aftershocks from the Office for Budget Responsibility leak continue, alongside accusations that she oversold the…
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THE POLITICAL KNIVES ARE BEING SHARPENED OFFSTAGE. There are significant leaderrship jitters on both sides of the aisle and although action is not widely expected until after the local elections in May, clever conspiracists strike before their intentions become clear. Labour’s polling trajectory continues downward: YouGov now places Labour as low as 17% in its…
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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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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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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…
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ASYLUM.Immigration is significantly less important to younger UK voters than their elders. It does not even feature amongst younger peoples’ “Top 5” issues (discussed this in a previous post on UK Youth Issues in June, sorry.) However, when conflated with the “Small Boats” crisis, immigration has become the most incendiary issue in British politics in…