BY STEWART SLATER “To lose one by-election is a misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness.” Although widely predicted, there are signs that Conservative MPs, facing the loss of the highest-paid job most of them are “qualified” for, are rolling out their headless chicken impression or, in another avian metaphor, starting to think that by failing to dislodge the Prime Minister in the recent confidence … Continue reading Don’t Panic!
BY JAMES BEMBRIDGE & DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Just a month ago, as Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party was thrown in the air by Beergate, commentators began to laud the Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting. Here was a man who: “Should be the next Labour leader” New Statesman. “Is the saviour Labour desperately needs?” Financial … Continue reading Dead-End Streeting
BY STEWART SLATER “Any man who is not a socialist at age 20 has no heart. Any man who is still a socialist at age 40 has no head.” One of those zombie phrases whose origins are obscure, and so it gets ascribed to Churchill. Your correspondent, a cradle Thatcherite, always felt that such a characterisation was unfair for, while he has enough self-awareness to … Continue reading The Nasty Party?
CSM EDITORIAL Last Wednesday night Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser, Lord Geidt, dramatically quit after conceding the Prime Minister may have broken the ministerial code over the Partygate scandal. In a statement released at the time, Geidt said: “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers’ interests.” Since his resignation Lord Geidt has been … Continue reading Lord Geidt’s Peculiar Wikipedia Entry
BY STEWART SLATER “Appalling” the newspapers screamed, reporting the Prince of Wales’ opinion on the government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, a story deemed important enough to make the front pages and lead the news bulletins. With Clarence House failing to deny the leak, what followed was one of those inversions which the Culture War occasionally throws up – the less than … Continue reading Disgusted of Clarence House
BY EFFIE DEANS There is a tower near where I live. It was built in honour of some now forgotten landowner. The tower itself is almost forgotten and must attract few if any visitors. Yet when I turned up for the first time in many years, I discovered that it was locked by a chain and padlock. At the beginning of the pandemic, I imagine … Continue reading The Bin Elections
BY STEWART SLATER “Distasteful”. “Shameless”. “I will take no lessons from the Prime Minister.” Just a selection of the terms used by Rachel Reeves as she fired up the outrage bus and set off for the moral high ground to signal her disapproval of the Prime Minister’s rhetorical connection between Brexit and the war in Ukraine the previous day. Ms. Reeves is not alone in … Continue reading Being Good
BY NOEL YAXLEY If you want a case study in how to turn your country into an authoritarian hellhole, may I suggest you start with Scotland: notably the Scottish National Party. Nicola Sturgeon’s tartan tyrants could no doubt write a masterful account of the subject, an excellent vade mecum for the would-be aspiring dictator — although I’m sure they would find a reason to burn … Continue reading Spanking Dictators
BY STEWART SLATER The U.S. Air Force has produced many fine pilots, but only one has regular conferences dedicated to analysing and publicising his thought: John Boyd. Although his combat experience was limited and he never scored a victory, his skills were such that he became known as “40-second Boyd” when an instructor at the Fighter Weapons School based on his standing bet that, starting … Continue reading The Fighter Pilot and the Politicians
BY NIALL MCCRAE AND ROGER WATSON Protests and protestors do not have a good reputation in the mind of the public, being characterised by self-righteous agitators pursuing marginal and possibly subversive causes, while causing disruption to others. This image suits the authorities, but it is not always sustainable. People attending massive demonstrations, like that against war in Iraq in 2002 and 2003, could not be … Continue reading Covid Rule Sceptics & the Countryside: Different Battles, Same War?
BY JON ALEXANDER As Partygate continues to engulf the Tories, rumours now persist that a leadership challenge is likely to take place in the near future as it’s claimed that the 54-letter threshold has been breached to trigger a leadership challenge. The Tory faithful has started recycling all their old arguments used to keep Theresa May in post following her disastrous 2017 which saw her … Continue reading What Next?
BY FRANK HAVILAND On the subject of Tony Blair’s knighthood, I feel it is important to disclose an interest: I loathe Tony Blair. Incidentally, I dislike Lewis Hamilton and everything he kneels for, but opposing his knighthood would never cross my mind; even if it is for playing Scalextric. No, there is something particularly sinister about our Anthony – which is why there is currently … Continue reading On The Blair Knighthood
BY JOHN NASH Dear CSM Reader. You are probably vaguely aware by now that there is something very, very, wrong with this dying government’s attitude to rural matters. After all, most people who make a living on or from the land thought they could rely on the Conservative Party for its down-to-earth policies – policies that once balanced the touchy-feely, self-centred anthropomorphic dreams of … Continue reading The Cancer at the Heart of Extremist Animal Rights Lunacy
BY JON ALEXANDER Could Liz Truss be our next Prime Minister? With Boris Johnson experiencing a rapid fall in popularity and a recent sizeable backbench rebellion, attentions have been diverted to who could be his successor. Step forward one Liz Truss, current Foreign Secretary and former Queen of the trade deals, a woman who has managed the unthinkable for politicians of late. She has just … Continue reading In Liz We Truss?
BY DAVID EYLES For some time now, it has been apparent that something is happening in the world of politics. I don’t mean the stupid office parties during lockdown. What I mean is that large numbers of people are hugely disappointed in Boris and his government – and are beginning to feel completely disenfranchised. The dismal state of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition has only added … Continue reading The Sleeping Giant II
THE CITY GRUMP The dictionary defines a delinquent as someone who “is failing in or neglectful of a duty or obligation”. The conduct of your MP in 2021 almost certainly fits that bill. Why? Because on just about every single important domestic issue, be it Covid, the NHS, energy, inflation or education your MP has done the square root of nothing in holding the Government to … Continue reading Your MP is a Delinquent
BY DAVID EYLES A few thoughts on the Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election on 2nd December 2021: This constituency, combining Bexley Heath and Sidcup was originally held by Sir Edward Heath from 1950 until 2001. It has always been a Tory stronghold. Unsurprisingly, the Conservatives won, but with a seriously reduced majority. The late James Brokenshire’s majority of 18,952 has been reduced by Louie French … Continue reading Sleeping Giants
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Two years ago they were still a formidable force feared by the Conservatives. Today Momentum is dead. Like other Marxist groups that have splintered before the Tories’ eyes over the centuries, Momentum now suffer from a terminal case of the People’s Front of Judea syndrome – meetings about meetings, low vote levels required to pass policies, and a surplus of lunatics. These … Continue reading Momentum Lost
BY STEWART SLATER While perhaps not quite as certain as death and taxes, that Britain will get exercised about MPs’ remuneration is still an extremely good bet. The periodic pay increases Parliament votes itself (on, to be fair, the advice of an independent body) are guaranteed to raise an eyebrow and spark a round of muttering in homes across the land. As we are treated to … Continue reading Why We Should Halve MPs’ Salaries
BY SOPHIE CORCORAN What do Angela Rayner’s words really mean for young right-wing activists? The Labour Party Deputy Leader has refused to apologise for the comments she made at this year’s Labour Party conference where she stated Conservatives were ‘worse than a bunch of homophobic, racist, misogynistic, piece of scum.’ Adding for good measure that this crazed diatribe demonstrated she was ‘holding back’. This wasn’t the … Continue reading Normalising Abuse
