The Royal Family has rarely been the focus of my attention. To me, they’re rather like the colour of paint in some public buildings: the unconvincing shades of green or beige may be distantly unpleasant, but at the same, they’re not glaring enough to make me grab a can of white Dulux and a brush. […]

I’ve been reliably informed that around about the time of Gordon Brown’s departure from Downing Street, a rainbow briefly appeared in the skies above Westminster. I haven’t seen a photograph or a video clip of the phenomenon, yet I believe it. Whether one has faith in a diety or not, it doesn’t stretch matters too […]

In retrospect, the formation of the Coalition Government was probably inevitable. The mathematics largely dictated this outcome; however the situation was exacerbated by Labour’s ineptitude. It should have been obvious that a “progressive alliance” was not going to happen once it became clear who was negotiating on Labour’s behalf. First and foremost, there was Lord […]

It would be a mistake to assume that any political party is a monolith or anything close to one: people don’t abandon their individual points of view the moment they sign the dotted line of the membership form. I once asked a Tory Member of Parliament, during a period when John Major was struggling with […]

For me, this election only had two highlights. The first occurred when the voters of Belfast East made the most beautifully practical and rational choice they’ve made in recent memory: they elected Naomi Long of the non-sectarian, liberal Alliance Party to be their Member of Parliament. I’ve rarely seen an electorate rebuke corruption and depravity […]

At long last, my area received a dose of politics. Yesterday, there was a parade celebrating St. George’s Day; groups of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides lined up beside the cathedral and then proceeded to march, flags unfurled, through the pedestrian centre of town. Such an event should have been on the radar of every […]

Mercifully, I didn’t listen to most of yesterday’s debate. I was enjoying the pleasures of a spring evening in the shadow of the South Downs; I set out just as the sun was beginning to set. The common near to my home was a lush green. The lads were out playing rugby in the fading […]

I think I’ll always remember where I was when our present political order fell to pieces. It was Friday, April 16, 2010 at around 12:15 in the afternoon. I was at my desk. A freshly brewed mug of rooibos tea was resting on a coaster beside my keyboard. I had just taken a look at […]

Like many, I tuned into last night’s debate with low expectations. I was dubious about the value of having American-style debates in Britain as for the most part their trans-Atlantic counterparts tend not to generate fresh ideas or perspectives. Rather, they are generally highly restrained, very scripted, and ultimately they exist solely to produce sound-bites. […]

According to a poll which appeared in The Times this morning, the voters have expressed a clear preference for a hung parliament. This desire apparently arises from popular disgust with Labour’s intransigence and the slipperiness of the Conservatives. Presumably, there is also a widely-held opinion that a purposefully inconclusive result will lead either Mr. Brown […]