Starmer is a clear and present danger to Johnson. He is detoxifying the brand by being the brand. And Johnson with Corbyn are the gifts that keep on giving.
- 22 Jul 2020
One of the most cheering things about lockdown is that I have had the opportunity to watch PMQs. The chemistry and body language between Johnson and Starmer is instructive and couldn’t be more different. Johnson is bluster, prepared one liners, failure to answer any questions,...
The appointment of David Frost is not a disaster, just an embarrassment. There will be a time when Cummings will be obscene but not heard
- 30 Jun 2020
Oh dear, Dom has the alchemist’s gift of turning hard rain into The acid variety. The replacement of Mark Sedwell as National Security Advisor by David Frost is not a disaster, but an embarrassment. The intervention by Theresa May today was devastating. And will rattle number ...
I will take no part in any plan to curtail jury trials. It is wrong, unfair and discriminatory. It should be strangled at birth.
- 25 Jun 2020
I trust Robert Buckland when he says that he would only consider curtailing jury trials as a ‘last resort’ and a ‘temporary measure’ to clear the backlog of trials. But abandoning jury trials in favour of a single judge or a judge sitting with two lay magistrates shouldn’t be ...
A master wordsmith even if they are written in vitriol
- 11 Jun 2020
I would like to think that John Bercow is his own worst enemy, but I am afraid that this book puts him well to the back of that lengthening queue. Unspeakable is by far the most honest political autobiography I have ever read. Too honest. It fizzes with malice and spits venom ...
At PMQs Boris is naked and alone his swashbuckling Flashman persona is more buckle than Swash
- 10 Jun 2020
There were no knock out blows at PMQs today. But there rarely are. What must be troubling backbenchers and ministers is that the PM is not just up to it. Without the howling and jeering from the mob behind he is naked and alone. He has never been a great debater. He has never ...
One moment he is One Nation the next a Warsaw Pact strong man. Who is Boris Johnson?
- 30 May 2020
For reasons beyond my comprehension (discuss) a certain noisy cult on Twitter seem to think that the retention of Cummings is some sort of victory for Boris Johnson. That he has faced down a biased and driven press. That he emerges as a strong leader. It is not the mood of the...
There is only so much, bluster, arrogance and lies that the public will take
- 26 May 2020
It stretches irony to almost breaking point that Barnard Castle is Durham slang for, ‘pathetic excuse’. I watched the press conference with a mixture of incredulity and anger. Downing Street was asked for comment by the Guardian about the Cummings road trips over six w...
This is no the end of the matter
- 23 May 2020
Like everything else in political life the cover up can be seen to be more serious than the crime. What I find so shocking about the Cummings allegations is that nobody at the centre of government thought it a wise precaution to have a ‘line to take’ in case his trip to Durham...
Margaret Thatcher would have regarded Priti Patel as Un Conservative
- 21 May 2020
The clue that there was a massive bust up in Cabinet over the immigration surcharge for health and care workers came from that wise old bird Michael Gove on Marr. ‘It’s under review”. A sensible holding line which holds no hostages to fortune and gives everyone a bit of wriggl...
Boris Johnson gave the nation the advice that I have been giving my pupils for years. Have fun but don’t be a cunt
- 10 May 2020
I always used to encourage ministers to read one Greek tragedy a month just to be prepared for their inevitable political doom. But perhaps this weekend Boris Johnson should reach for a spot on Wodehouse. ‘It’s always just when a chappie is feeling particularly top hole and...