Tories
Will Nigel Farage and UKIP help ditch Alex Salmond?
Yesterday’s Survation poll reported that UKIP (22%) are, for the moment, just two points behind the Tories (24%) and therefore and given the margin of error in these things possibly… Continue reading
150 Comments
UKIP, Pierre Poujade and a political class that’s seen to be “out-of-touch”.
Parliament is a “brothel”. The state is an enterprise of “thieves” engaged in a conspiracy against “the good little people” and the “humble housewife”. Time, then, for a party that… Continue reading
35 Comments
The swivel-eyed loons in the Conservative party are revolting. And they are right to revolt.
Clearly it is not a good idea for the Prime Minister’s chums to call members of the Conservative party “swivel-eyed loons“. No, not even at a “private dinner party”. I… Continue reading
26 Comments
Who is allowed to speak for, and to, Scotland?
I shall be on hiatus for the next week as I’m getting married on Saturday and I have an inkling that this is no time to be concerned that people… Continue reading
78 Comments
The Tory party holds its nerve – for now
The dust is settling from the County Council elections and, crucially, the Tory party seems to have stayed steady. Yes, David Davis has had a pop at the number of… Continue reading
231 Comments
David Davis and the Tories’ class war
To the relief of Conservative Campaign Headquarters, relatively few Tory MPs have taken the opportunity of the County Council election results to sound off. The most prominent exception to this… Continue reading
167 Comments
Labour hold South Shields with Ukip 2nd and Lib Dems 7th
The result is now in from South Shields. As expected, Labour have held the seat. Ukip have come second, with the Tories third and the Liberal Democrats a spectacularly bad… Continue reading
40 Comments
The Tory Tumbrils Begin to Roll for David Cameron
As I type this, pundits in London are stiffening themselves for the tough task of over-interpreting local election results and projecting wildly unrealistic forecasts for the next general election on… Continue reading
42 Comments
A Tory party that is spooked by UKIP is a Tory party that will lose the next election
UKIP are buoyant and, all of a sudden, everyone’s favourite protest-group. In a curious way, the confirmation that many of their candidates really are boggle-minded, eyes-popped extremists of one stamp… Continue reading
22 Comments
Margaret Thatcher and Scotland: A Story of Mutual Incomprehension
There is a poignant passage in Margaret Thatcher’s memoirs during which she contemplates her failure in Scotland. She seemed puzzled by this, noting that, in her view, many of her… Continue reading
180 Comments
David Cameron’s Legacy? Preserving the Union or presiding over the Break-Up of Britain
Politics is at least partially a matter of perspective. The same object can look very different depending upon the angle from which it is viewed. Which brings me to Brother… Continue reading
36 Comments
The Scottish Tories Cross Their Rubicon
Alea iacta est. And not before time. More than a year ago and at the outbreak of this independence referendum virus I wrote an article for this magazine arguing that,… Continue reading
23 Comments
It’ll take more than Eddie Mair to stop Boris
I’ve just watched the Boris interview with Eddie Mair and I have to say, these dogs won’t hunt. Mair threw three accusations at Johnson and I think all three of… Continue reading
74 Comments
Referendum Spin: Beware the Tory Bogeymen!
So we have our date with destiny. Scotland will march to the polls nine days after the 501st anniversary of the Battle of Flodden. September, 18th 2014. There are fewer… Continue reading
106 Comments
An Antediluvian Tory Press Causes Problems for David Cameron
Today’s papers make dreadful reading for anyone with an interest in modern, reformed conservatism. They are a reminder – if it were needed – that the Tory press is estranged… Continue reading
19 Comments
Which Tories will be Hacked Off’s useful idiots?
Reading the Hacked Off memo on how to lobby Tory MPs is to be inducted into a wholly cynical world view. It declares, ‘These people are likely to be people… Continue reading
37 Comments
Afriyie fails the interview test
The Adam Afriyie leadership speculation has now got to the point where he’s been interviewed by Andrew Neil on the Sunday Politics. His first big broadcast interview as a potential… Continue reading
45 Comments
Tory loyalists strike back
Lynton Crosby spoke to Tory MPs this evening about the imporance of party discipline. With the Chief Whip in the chair, meetings of the Tory parliamentary party are normally fairly… Continue reading
24 Comments
May blossoms
The question about Theresa May has always been what does she believe? Well, today in the widest-ranging speech of her political career she went a long way to answering that.… Continue reading
44 Comments
Revolting, Panic-Stricken Tories are doing Ed Miliband's job for him
Panic, once let loose, is hard to corral. And there seems to be plenty of panic on the Tory benches at Westminster. The Eastleigh by-election result, the stagnant economy and… Continue reading
16 Comments