Monthly Archives: March 2011

After what feels like an age of indecision, yet is in fact less than a month, the UN resolution on Libya feels like a moment of hope. That hope is qualified, uncertain and unsure, of course, but real. Like many … Continued

Through a turmoil of seething jealously, I am summoning up the grace to congratulate Mr Iain Martin on his new job as a political columnist for the Daily Mail. I might not have much time for the Mail’s politics, or … Continued

On Saturday I went to the Progress political weekend. It was very nice. Jim Murphy spoke, and so did Liam Byrne, and Caroline Flint, and Douglas Alexander. Andrew Adonis also spoke. He was very nice and told us all about … Continued

A letter has appeared in today’s Times opposing the Alternative Vote. This missive has been penned, or endorsed, by several prominent historians. As you may know, I am a very mild supporter of AV. Still, this letter has given me … Continued

Someone whose own personal history of pension planning is dreadful should not opine on pensions oermuch. So I won’t. Compulsory enrollment (or even an opt out system) in pensions twenty years ago would have done me the world of good, … Continued

Well, It’s less than two months until the nation decides what our electoral system will be, and I find myself in the unusual position of being a swing voter. Partly, I’m a swing voter because the options I’m being given … Continued

Chris Dillow has an excellent post up examining new business formation and deregistration rates. Also, see this from the Centre for Cities, which makes some important points about the impact of history and social structure on business formation. This could … Continued

I’ve mentioned before that since become Prime Minister, David Cameron’s major political speeches read as if the speechwriter has taken an early Blair speech and run it through a Conservativamizer ™. So it was this weekend, with the Prime Minister’s … Continued

to Dan Jarvis, and his campaign team on a fabulous victory. Paul Nicholson and Tom Watson should be particulary pleased, I imagine. They should be. Being on a by-election campaign team is hard, unrelenting work, and while the victory rightly … Continued

When I saw a blog post titled “Labour slackers beware” from a blog called “Ballots and Bullets“, I felt a little persecuted. I know I don’t do enough leafleting, but there’s no need to shoot… Thankfully, the slackers identified by … Continued