Boris won the keys to Number 10 – now can he win an election? July 24, 2019 If it wasn’t clear before yesterday’s conclusion of the Tory leadership race, it sure is now: Britain is facing a General Election, and sooner rather than later. Every incoming Prime Minister is greeted with trepidation, sometimes edging into scepticism. That is normal in a country which has traditionally frowned on cults of personality. But the [...]
If you stand for nothing, Lib Dems, what will you fall for? July 24, 2019 The Liberal Democrats have a new, young, energetic, female leader and are riding high in the polls. So with the two main parties in disarray, even now one of them has finally changed managers, can the Lib Dems break through the electoral system and overcome the political duopoly we have been cursed with for decades? [...]
Citizens’ assemblies would hand power to establishment experts July 24, 2019 Citizens’ assemblies have become the height of fashion. The London borough of Camden is currently holding one on how to reduce carbon emissions in the area. Last month, Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to set one up to consider constitutional issues in Scotland. The Irish government’s one on abortion featured in the 2018 referendum on the [...]
Boris Johnson must be brave enough to disappoint some of his backers July 23, 2019 Boris Johnson’s victory in the Conservative leadership race was never in doubt, and in truth neither was the scale of his win. Two of out three Conservative members backed the former foreign secretary, giving him a sizeable mandate from the party faithful. Together with securing the support of more than half of his parliamentary colleagues, [...]
Trump’s tweets do bitcoin and Facebook a favour July 23, 2019 Donald Trump’s recent tweet about bitcoin and that Facebook’s new quasi-crypto the “libra” would get the full force of the US regulators if they “want to become a bank” has put the crypto kitty amongst the pigeons. Why now? Surely Trump doesn’t care about bitcoin? Well, it was timed just before Facebook had to testify [...]
DEBATE: Who should be the next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt? July 23, 2019 Who should be the next Prime Minister? Mark Wallace, executive editor of ConservativeHome, says BORIS JOHNSON. Theresa May is reported to be searching for a legacy, but she has already got one. It’s just one she doesn’t like very much: a dire political situation born of muddle, indecision, and broken promises. She demolished the Conservative [...]
Politicians need to wake up to the risks of artificial superintelligence July 23, 2019 Politicians aren’t very good at thinking about more than one thing at a time. Take Brexit as an example, if you needed one. Everything other than our proposed exit from the European Union – and who will be the Prime Minister to lead us through it – has been downgraded to an inconvenient side-show. This [...]
Let this be the week that Liz Truss moves into Number 11 Downing Street July 23, 2019 We are now at the end of the Tory leadership election. Today, we will have the results, and tomorrow, either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will be sworn in as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. But throughout it all, another important contest has largely gone ignored: the race for Number 11. Within the Westminster [...]
Data is our NHS’ most precious asset – the next Prime Minister must protect it July 23, 2019 Britain is about to have a new government. And in a few months’ time, there could be a General Election resulting in the third government of 2019. On top of this, Brexit has still not been resolved. But in the fog of these political crises, we must not lose sight of innovations which, if adopted [...]
Jo Swinson is the new Lib Dem leader – now where will she take her party? July 22, 2019 The votes have been counted, the outcome announced, and a new leader has taken the reins – not of the Conservative party, whose results we will know tomorrow, but of the Liberal Democrats. After a race which was almost entirely overshadowed by the Tories, Jo Swinson has been named the successor to Sir Vince Cable. [...]