The Tories urgently need a boost from Philip Hammond’s Budget
The Budget this Wednesday represents this government’s best, and perhaps its last, chance to regain the political initiative. Ever since…
Why can’t Theresa May get a grip on Westminster scandals?
How much longer can things go on like this? That is the question on the lips of Tory ministers and…
What to do about the returning jihadis
In normal times, the reported return of 400 Isis fighters to Britain would be the biggest story out there. But…
Hammond can build his way out of trouble
Sometimes in life the biggest risk you can take is to play it safe. This is the predicament of Philip…
Brexit can strengthen the Union
There will be no chance of the United Kingdom making a success of Brexit if Scotland votes to break up…
The plots thicken
‘Worst week ever’ is one of those phrases that journalists are, perhaps, too quick to use. Alastair Campbell once quipped…
The Conservatives admit they have a problem – but can they solve it?
For those who don’t want Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister, the Tory conference was half encouraging and half depressing.…
A clear run for Corbyn
Paralysed by Brexit divisions, the Tories risk handing Britain to the hard left
Brexit wars
The time for choosing is fast approaching for Theresa May. Soon she must make a decision that will define her…
Can anyone unite the Tory tribes?
One of the reasons that coalition governments are so unusual in Britain is that both main parties are coalitions themselves.…
May’s exit strategy
Nearly all Tory MPs now agree Theresa May should stay on as Prime Minister. She must get the party through…
The dark clouds threatening Brexit
It’s summertime and the living is easy… unless you’re a civil servant working on Brexit. Whitehall has recognised that the…
The Tories need a ‘what’ as much as a ‘who’
Theresa May has made it to the summer. In the aftermath of the election, Downing Street’s immediate aim was to…
‘Everyone’s out for Boris’
The Tory leadership contest is starting with an attempted assassination
Corbyn can be beaten – here’s how
The Tory party is suffering from an intellectual crisis of confidence. Before 8 June, its collective view was that Jeremy…
Why May must stay
Sometimes crises end simply because all of the participants are exhausted. Essentially, this is what has happened with the post-election…
This uneasy dawn
The Tory party is having the wrong conversation. Whenever two or three Conservative MPs are gathered together, they discuss who…
The Maybot 3000
Had Theresa May won the election with the landslide she expected, she’d have fired several of the cabinet with her…
Why hasn’t the Remain dog barked in this election?
The hopes of those who want Britain to stay in the EU have been dashed by this election. There has…
Why hasn’t the Remain dog barked in this election?
The hopes of those who want Britain to stay in the EU have been dashed by this election. There has…
Weak and wobbly
When Theresa May decided to go for an early election, she transformed the nature of her premiership. Up to that…
Will Theresa May ever resist a backlash?
Elections matter. They are fundamental to our way of life. So, while it is appropriate that the campaigns stopped on…
Twelve months of May
Normally, the first anniversary of a prime minister taking office is the occasion for a lot of opinion polls and…
Never mind the election – Corbynism isn’t going away
General elections are meant to produce a government and an opposition — ideally, a decent version of both. It is…
Why Tories are talking up Labour
Considering that their party is expected to win by a landslide, the Tory spin doctors sound unusually panicked. They are…
