Woo the EU? Theresa May should take tips from the dating game September 26, 2018 Winning votes in an election is a lot like dating. I was explaining the principles of campaigning during a Westminster Foundation seminar in Ghana when one of the young candidates hit on this perfect analogy for electoral success. When you start dating someone, you are keen to establish common interests. “You like Love Island? [...]
John McCain was a champion against pork barrel spending August 28, 2018 Millions of words have been written about US senator John McCain since his death last weekend. He has rightly been lauded as a statesman, a hero, a maverick (his own term) – but one accolade that has been missing is his role as a champion for taxpayers. Given his military background and heroism during the [...]
Don’t overplay the similarities between Brexit voters and Geert Wilders’ Dutch populists March 14, 2017 In 2016, both Brexit and Trump took the markets by surprise. Will the so-called “rise of populism” continue into 2017? Its first significant electoral test is the Dutch general election tomorrow, with all eyes on Geert Wilders. A “win” for his populist Freedom Party is securing the most votes and occupying the most seats in the [...]
Rochester killed the politics of triangulation – and that’s bad news for Ukip November 23, 2014 Labour and the Conservatives have just gone another 12 rounds with Ukip, and lost. The inexorable rise of Ukip and the Rochester by-election result last week have their origins in strategic calculations made by parties in the 1990s. The rise of the Third Way and the politics of triangulation, pioneered by Bill Clinton, brought to [...]
Both Miliband and Cameron must bet the house on Rochester to save themselves now October 12, 2014 UKIP’s victory in the Clacton by-election was historic, if not unpredictable. From the moment Douglas Carswell entered the room of shocked journalists and activists in August and declared his defection, to when the polls opened early on Thursday morning, it was inevitable that Ukip would be celebrating the election of its first MP – a [...]
Both Miliband and Cameron must bet the house on Rochester to save themselves now October 10, 2014 Ukip's victory in the Clacton by-election was historic, if not unpredictable. From the moment Douglas Carswell entered the room of shocked journalists and activists in August and declared his defection, to when the polls opened early on Thursday morning, it was inevitable that Ukip would be celebrating the election of its first MP – a [...]
Change or we’ll go: Why threatening to leave the EU is a win-win for Britain September 24, 2014 WHEN the Prime Minister promised an EU referendum in January 2013, the idea that the UK might be better off outside the EU was unfathomable for many, an idea relegated to the fringes of political discussion. But in the space of 18 months, senior government figures are now on the record saying they would vote [...]
Juncker’s new EU financial services tsar would be disastrous for the City August 4, 2014 The prevailing winds of politics have not been kind to the City or the wider financial world of late. Politicians, often with one eye on the next election and tempted to kowtow to “banker bashing” sentiments, have paraded their credentials by legislating against the unruly financiers who “caused the financial crisis”. But if you think [...]
