A brief lesson in governments of national unity, and why they won’t solve Brexit August 19, 2019 A struggling pound, a Labour leader at odds with his backbenches, and a government trying to pursue multiple contradictory aims. It may sound like last week, but it was in fact the state of things in 1931. The answer, echoed by some today, was a government of national unity – elements of the three main [...]
Is it irresponsible for parliament to be on recess at such a crucial time? August 8, 2019 Is it irresponsible for parliament to be on recess at such a crucial time? Dr Stuart Thomson, head of public affairs at BDB Pitmans, says YES. With a hard no-deal Brexit looming, now is not the time for a parliamentary break. There is too much to do, but only if the government allows it. Allowing [...]
The Club of Former Prime Ministers welcomes its latest member: Theresa May July 30, 2019 With Boris Johnson parading into Downing Street and the drama of the chopping and changing of cabinet, it’s easy to forget that Theresa May too has acquired a new role: former Prime Minister. It is a peculiar position to be in. One is freed from the constraints of parliamentary ambition, but also chastened by the [...]
DEBATE: Should ambassadors be political appointments? July 11, 2019 Following Sir Kim Darroch’s resignation, should ambassadors be political appointments? Olivia Utley, deputy editor at TheArticle, says YES. To repair a special relationship which has gone – to put it mildly – a little sour, the new Prime Minister needs to appoint a special kind of ambassador. Sir Kim, who spent most of his career [...]
DEBATE: Now the Brexit Party has joined the campaign, is it time to switch to proportional representation? July 5, 2019 Now the Brexit Party has joined the campaign, is it time to switch to proportional representation? Professor Tim Bale, co-author of Footsoldiers, a forthcoming book on Britain’s party members, says YES. It may come as a surprise to some that Nigel Farage is a fan of electoral system reform. After all, he’s not normally keen [...]
Erskine May is online – now even you can understand parliament’s arcane rules July 3, 2019 The UK government has allowed the “bible” of parliamentary procedure, Erskine May, to be published online – fully and freely accessible for the first time in the 175-year history of the book. Anyone with an internet connection can now explore the full intricacies of everything that goes on in Westminster, from “Absence, leave of” to [...]
DEBATE: Will character matter more than policy detail in the Tory leadership contest? June 25, 2019 Will character matter more than policy detail in the Tory leadership contest? Alex Deane, a Conservative commentator, says YES. Our members aren’t going to cast their votes based on policy minutiae. Plainly, whether or not you think that they should, they’ll be voting on character. When I say “character”, I don’t mean it in the [...]
What does Boris Johnson have in common with Oscar Wilde? A brief history of private prosecutions June 3, 2019 Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has been told that he will face court as part of private prosecution brought against him for his conduct in the Brexit campaign. Suddenly, this obscure legal mechanism is in the public spotlight. Indeed, many people may not even have been aware that private prosecutions still existed in modern Britain. [...]
Farewell to Theresa May, the most ineffectual Prime Minister in modern history May 28, 2019 When Theresa May departs from Number 10 for the final time, her portrait will be added to the collection which snakes down the main staircase. It is the ritualised ending for all Prime Ministers, good, bad or indifferent. It will be hard for her to walk down those stairs without thinking of her legacy, and [...]
DEBATE: Should the UK’s judicial system embrace using artificial intelligence in the courtroom? April 30, 2019 Should the UK’s judicial system embrace using artificial intelligence in the courtroom? Emily Foges, chief executive of Luminance, says YES. The explosion of digital information, from social media posts to WhatsApp messages, can lead to cases collapsing in our courts as police and barristers struggle to review evidence in time. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is [...]