UK Politics

Northern Ireland protocol: Why Tory backbenchers are rebelling over Rishi Sunak’s revised Brexit deal

— Members of Rishi Sunak’s own party could disrupt his biggest policy move yet.

Long-Read

How Brexitism is eating conservatism

— Professor Chris Grey’s Brexit analysis – placing Truss’s ‘essay’ and Sunak’s many woes in the wider context of a ‘Brexitist’ capture of conservatism, and how that could lead to a re-alignment of the political right.

OPINION

The Conservatives are gunning for our human rights

— The Conservatives are threatening our human rights. We need to be prepared to fight back.

COVID-19 Government Contracts

Government commits to publishing £248m missing COVID contracts after breaching transparency guidelines

— After breaching transparency guidelines, the UK government commits to publishing £248 million worth of missing COVID-19 contracts.

Long-Read

Three years of failure

— Professor Chris Grey’s latest Brexit analysis. Three years on, with public support declining, there were no celebrations last week – only lies, excuses, and the usual cries of ‘betrayal’. Nothing new, but as time passes, the failure of the Brexit project is simply inescapable.

OPINION

There’s no delusion like Tory self-delusion

— After 100 days of soul-searching, Liz Truss has decided there is only one person to blame for her woes: everyone else!

Corruption

UK slides in corruption perception index after series of political scandals

— The UK is perceived to be more corrupt than it was following the 2009 expenses scandal that rocked parliament to its core. Hostile states are happy to watch the UK move away from core liberal democratic principles.

OPINION

Brexit : Three years on, lies, deceit and delusion

— Brexiters don’t have any real Brexit benefits to boast of, so they have to make stuff up.

Long-Read

Untying Brexit’s toxic knots

— Professor Chris Grey’s latest Brexit analysis on David Lammy’s speech that was maybe the first time since Brexit that a major politician challenged its central, flawed assumptions. A small but welcome first step to realism.

OPINION

Holyrood’s death by a thousand Tory cuts

— In a recent interview with the News Agents podcast, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that she is no longer 100% certain that the Conservatives would not attempt to abolish the Scottish Parliament

Analysis

Nadhim Zahawi sacked: Today’s Tory scandals are similar to 1990s sleaze stories in more than one way

— The prime minister’s pledge to bring integrity to public office could become a stick to beat him with – just like ‘back to basics’ became one for John Major.

UK Strikes

Why refusing public sector pay rises won’t help reduce inflation

— Recent price rises are not due to higher wages but supply-side issues, including the war in Ukraine, the COVID pandemic, and Brexit. All in all, the current government’s intransigence on public sector pay is based on both bad economics and bad politics.

Long-Read

Strange days

— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on how the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Retained EU Law Bill processes rumble on undramatically but with potential for crisis and chaos, the idea that Brexit is dying, and thoughts on how Re-joiners will need to build and sustain a ‘big tent’.

Climate Change

Tory-linked think tank appoints ‘brazen’ climate denier as director

— Tory-linked think tank appoints the author of books which claim that environmentalism is part of a “totalitarian” plan to control the public and human-made climate change is a “myth”.

Opinion Polls

Majority of Britons say Zahawi must resign as Conservative chairman

— A majority of the British public is unimpressed with Zahawi’s conduct over his tax issues and believes that he should step down from his role as Conservative party chairman.

OPINION

Prime Minister’s Quarrelling

— There’s pointlessness, and then there’s Prime Minister’s Questions, where democracy goes to kill itself.