Tories are hoping economic recovery will win it for them in 2015; why didn’t it in 1997?
In some ways 2015 is nothing like 1997. Exhibits A and B: Tony Blair and Ed Miliband. But in one important sense they are very similar. … Read the full post »
John Major
John Major (Conservative Party) was Prime Minister 1990-1997, succeeding Margaret Thatcher before losing to Tony Blair in the 1997 general election.
Will it be ‘the economy, stupid’ in 2015?
Quite how traumatic the events of Black Wednesday were to the Conservative Party’s reputation are easy to overlook nearly twenty-five years on, but until then the century had seen four full-scale financial crises rocking the country’s economy – and every one had taken place under a Labour government. … Read the full post »
6 things Lib Dem campaigners can learn from Boris Johnson and George Galloway
Boris Johnson has twice won a contest for a directly-elected Mayor. George Galloway won a Parliamentary by-election with a huge swing. That is why, for all the many reasons Liberal Democrats have for criticising both, smart Liberal Democrats also know that there are lessons to be learnt from their electoral successes. … Read the full post »
Lords reform, Boris Johnson and Louise Mensch: Guardian podcast
This week’s Politics Weekly podcast from The Guardian features, ahem, myself alongside Martin Kettle, Nick Cohen and Tom Clark. … Read the full post »
Politicians are not mere pawns in the hands of journalists
This isn’t just a story about how the media behaves, once again it is also a story about how at times those in politics have far too much power over what appears in the media. … Read the full post »
ISA tax breaks for savings: cap them at £15,000
The combination of being in government and of facing a large deficit means the list of tax increases and spending cuts Liberal Democrats have been calling for over many years has been mostly exhausted. … Read the full post »
There will be no general election in 2014
Some opposition leaders have the natural gift of looking Prime Ministerial even if they have never previously held the lowliest of ministerial ranks for the briefest sliver of time. … Read the full post »
Farewell alarm clocks and hello John Major: Nick Clegg’s new strategy
Nick Clegg said, “We want a truly open society, in which every man and woman will be able to go as far as their talent, ambition and effort take them”. … Read the full post »
Explaining Cameron’s Coalition: politics as seen through the eyes of MORI polls
Explaining Cameron’s Coalition is the latest in the series of general election analysis by MORI’s Robert Worcester and Roger Mortimore, this time joined by two other authors. … Read the full post »
I agree with Adrian Sanders and 22 Conservative MPs
Yesterday in Parliament Adrian Sanders and 22 Conservative MPs voted to reduce the maximum number of ministers allowed in the Commons. … Read the full post »