Category: UK Labour Party
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Plaid Cymru’s romped home in Caerphilly The Caerphilly by-election confirmed 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…
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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 (Jane Austen) 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…
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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 LAUGHTER 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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Immigration and asylum is significantly less important to younger UK voters than their elders. It does not even feature amongst younger peoples’ “Top 5” issues (I 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…
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MERITOCRACY VS POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION – The tension between meritocracy and positive discrimination has shaped numerous debates in British politics since the mid-20th century, focusing on how to ensure fair access and optimal outcomes in education, employment and the conduct of public offices. Recent policy shifts, such as the government’s proposal to reserve civil service internships…
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STORMCLOUDS GATHER Hot on the heels of last week’s Welfare Reform climb-down and the forewarning of incipient rebellion gathering amongst Labour backbenchers over Education policy changes involving SEND, comes an underwhelmed reaction to the announcement of the Anglo-French “One In, One Out” illegal arrivals pilot scheme. Then a spat between the Deputy Prime Minister and…
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U-TURN IF YOU WANT TO… It turns out that watching slow-motion car crashes is not so much fun. Following the reinstatement of pensioners’ winter fuel payment just a month ago, “justified” by HMG’s sudden discovery that the economic catastrophe that they thought they had inherited from the Conservatives had miraculously cured itself, comes the inevitably…
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NEWS VS POLITICS Harold Macmillan was a wise old bird. His reply to a question about what he feared most: “Events, dear boy, events” neatly encapsulates how easy it is for politics to be knocked off course by news. Some days you set out to explain proposed NHS structural changes, you can instead get sandbagged…
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REFORM RISES, RIVALS FALL Reform UK Shocks the System If you thought UK politics was just Labour vs. the Tories forever think again. Reform UK, led by the ever-controversial Nigel Farage, pulled off a political upset this week that’s got everyone talking. In the local elections, they bagged a massive 677 council seats and took control…