A few months ago it was alleged that Patrick Mercer the Conservative MP for Newark claimed that David Cameron was the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone. Mr Mercer denied making the comments but even if they were said do they actually have a basis in reality. If we discount what is probably an opinion of the current Prime Minister based on personal animosity, does the argument that William Gladstone was a terrible [...]
‘Arguably the greatest peacetime Prime Minister in British History’ D.Read- Peel and the Victorians 1987 The current Coalition government in the United Kingdom and its policies are always being compared to what has gone previously. Some commentators use history to make unfavourable comparisons and to suggest that the current administration is just a continuation of Conservative governments of the past. Others mainly on the right however, use the past to provide examples of regimes [...]
Today’s developments that Peter Cruddas was essentially caught allegedly trying to wheedle money from wealthy foreigners (in certain cases banned under British Electoral Law) is going to do the image of Politics and the ruling Conservative Party no favours at all. Despite disputing the claims of impropriety, the video transcript of the Sunday Times sting seems pretty self explanatory, unless Cruddas is using those words in ways, as yet not interpreted by the Oxford English [...]
So George Osborne has delivered his budget and now the narrative of what he should do changes to what he should have done, plus ca change… Those that argued that the 50p tax on the rich was a drag on the economy have been “rewarded” with a cut in the top rate. However, George reckons he will gather five times as much from other measures – so not an entirely successful outcome for the defenders [...]
In the space of a little under two years Nick Clegg has gone from the immense popularity of ‘Cleggmania’, where at one point he was the most popular political leader in Britain since Winston Churchill, to being reviled by a substantial number of people, especially among the chattering classes. The cause of this dramatic change of fortune is the sense of betrayal felt by some that in 2010 after the General Election he took the [...]
The ongoing debacle rumbling around Westminster and protestors offices about Andrew Lansley’s fabled and long cherished health bill is continuing, with many points of controversy and disagreement. Looking over all the rhetoric and management jargon, there appears to be a resound fact, for which not even the eventual state of the reforms (if they ever reach fruition) will fully solve. I am declaring from the outset, to be an ardent supporter of the NHS, and [...]
When Alistair Darling introduced the 50p top rate of income tax in 2010 he described it as a ‘temporary measure’. Two years on, we can safely assume that George Osborne has no plans to reverse it in his Budget on the 21rd of March. In doing so he will ignore the calls from within the Conservative party, the 537 businessmen who wrote to The Telegraph earlier this week and his own economic instincts. The biggest [...]
The UK constitution is facing a “perfect storm” of issues brought to a head by the SNP’s desire to see an independent Scotland. This demands that Unionists, and therefore Conservatives, sharpen their thinking about the constitution and engage in these debates rather than assuming that the status quo will prevail. I made a comment in response to a post yesterday that I thought that the UK constitution was under strain and that Unionists particularly, but [...]
Imagine it is May 3rd 2012. After many long and testing days, weeks and months of hard-fought campaigning, with blood, sweat and tears, straining every last sinew to reach voters across the capital, it has come to this. With mouths lolling open, aghast, a feeling of unease permeates the atmosphere as the Returning Officer steps onto the stage. A fraught hush envelops City Hall. “I can officially declare that… Ken Livingstone is the winner of [...]
There is an old proverb, attributed to the semi-mythical Chinese strategist Sun-Tzu, which says: “Win the battle, then go out and fight it”. On the surface what Sun-Tzu was referring to was the importance of good planning and organisation if you are ever going to get anywhere. Yet this philosophy has a deeper level too. It refers not only to strategy and logistics, but to the art of controlling the course of the battle by [...]