Division! Forgotten Origins in Brexit

The Brexit whirlwind moves ever onward. In the process it increasingly drains the word 'meaning' of definition like a dementor drains happiness. Each day, politicians make passionate speeches (or write passionate articles) about a position they may not have held even yesterday - and then proceed to vote in the opposite direction. Each day, fellow …

Thoughts on Brexit and the general public: frustration and a people’s vote

Just some quick notes on a sentiment I've heard expressed across class and economic backgrounds which was just summarised neatly by one member of the public in Hartlepool: that we've negotiated for two and a half years, it's got us nowhere. We wanted to leave, so let's leave now. Common phrases include: for it to …

Extra notes on the Independent Group

Spare thoughts which wouldn't fit into the previous post, in no particular order: Differences between Tariff Reform and the Independent Group 1. Difference #1 That in many ways the 1906 election has already happened. The 2017 General Election was the one in which the Conservatives lost their significant majority. The difference may be explained by …

Breaking the spell: the Independent Group

So it's finally happened. We have a splinter group, and it's growing. British politics has entered a whirlwind of panicked opinion. Sure, we've had hard-left Labour factions, antisemitism and the ERG has acquired an apparently iron grip on the Conservative tiller, but this is the first time any MPs have actually left a party as …

The Paralysis of Parliament: no work, no responsibility, no Opposition

It is shocking to watch Parliament these days; to see what Brexit has done to the British Government, Parliament and British politics. What is taking place doesn't look like British politics, formed though it is by that system's worst traits unleashed. Parliament has mutated into the barest semblance of itself: the system is there; the …

What it means to say No Deal

It is a piece of cognitive dissonance that No Deal is the most popular option among the general public at the moment. The short term is sure to be a difficult, particularly on the British side. It is one thing to say Leave. It is quite another to suggest No Deal. Why, then, can No …

Charting perceptions of Brexit government performance

As part of an exploration of Leave voter perspectives on Brexit, one of the more interesting aspects has been the distinction between the stereotyped Leave voter as No Deal supporter and the Leave voters who expected Brexit to be handled with a similar degree of due process to normal legislation. Much as the divide is …

Fog of war in the Brexit crisis

If there's one core issue to Brexit, it's the extent to which no one really seems to have a viable solution. There is no easy answer which will fully satisfy every faction. Had we taken a different approach to the result in 2016 (an option made vastly more difficult by the results of the 2017 …

We have a Brexit Government, not a Conservative one

If there is one fact we can all agree on, it is that Brexit has completely shifted the centre of gravity in UK politics. Just as Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s ratcheted the centre ground to the right over her ten-year tenure, Brexit has yanked it into another dimension like a slow, inexorable landslide, which …