Eight times the Conservative party battled ‘The Blob’
“The Blob”, that perennial spectre of Conservative party governance, takes its name from a 1950s B-Movie about an unstoppable amoeba-like mass which devours everything in its path. “There is no stopping The Blob as it spreads from town to town”, the trailer for the forgotten flick explains. Leading man Steve McQueen — in his first […]
Civil servants passed Johnson lockdown allegations to police with ‘no ministerial intervention’
Justice secretary Alex Chalk has insisted that the process by which Boris Johnson was referred to the police by the cabinet office over new allegations of rule breaking during the pandemic occurred “without any intervention from ministers”. It comes as Mr Johnson’s office blasted “yet another politically motivated stitch up” in a statement yesterday. New […]
What the Conservative ‘right’ gets wrong about Rishi Sunak
After a rendition of God Save the King by Andrea Jenkyns — the opera-singing MP adorned with a Union flag-print fascinator, delegates to the inaugural conference of the Conservative Democratic Organisation were welcomed to Bournemouth on Saturday with a rousing if curious curtain-raiser: “Good morning real Conservatives!”. This greeting, reportedly met with riotous applause from […]
Richard Sharp resigns as BBC chairman following ‘cash for Boris’ report
Richard Sharp has resigned as chair of the BBC following the publication of the report into the circumstances surrounding his appointment. It comes following months of tension over the way he was appointed, with The Sunday Times revealing earlier this year he helped to facilitate Boris Johnson getting an £800,000 loan during the selection process. In […]
With Sunak and Starmer at the helm, British politics has taken a ruthless turn in 2023
Bullet point by bullet point, 2023 kicked off with Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer swearing their respective oaths at the altar of pragmatism. Trust them and the economy would grow, NHS waiting lists would shorten and the small boats would stop. It was the prime minister’s emphasis on the latter that drove the greatest […]
Week-in-Review: A cornered Boris is a dangerous Boris
Over recent years and months, British politics has grown accustomed to aberrance. But when the Grimond Room doors were closed for the final time on Wednesday afternoon, the lucky witnesses were in no doubt: something remarkable had just happened. A former prime minister — felled only months ago by his party — was asked to […]
Partygate: The latest battleground in the toxic ‘Vote Leave’ war
As Boris Johnson takes an oath on the Bible at 2 pm this afternoon, saddling up for a four-hour grilling by the privileges committee, the testimony of a familiar foe will loom large over affairs. That foe is Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former “disruptor-in-chief” and the unscrupulous Machiavelli who masterminded the former prime minister’s path to power. Having […]
Boris Johnson voting against Brexit deal could prompt larger rebellion, Conservative MP says
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will vote against the “Stormont brake” aspect of Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework was agreed by the prime minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 27 February to change the way the Northern Ireland Protocol operates. The prime […]
Boris Johnson’s latest ‘partygate’ drama comes with fresh danger for Rishi Sunak
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s relationship resembles no other in recent political history. Not even the battle of the Milibands, nor Johnson’s Brexit manoeuvring under David Cameron, reflect the sour liaison of the current prime minister and his predecessor-once-removed. A new chapter in Boris and Rishi’s storied relationship will be penned later this week with […]
Some MPs on privileges committee have ‘predetermined view’ of Boris Johnson, claims ally
A key ally of Boris Johnson has claimed that “some members” of the cross-party privileges committee have a “predetermined view” of the former PM ahead of their public clash later this week. Mr Johnson is due before the privileges committee on Wednesday, which will decide whether the Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP misled the commons […]
