Tag Archives: Conservatives

‘UKIP should not be written off yet’, Financial Times, 24 April 2015

The narrative says one thing but the numbers say another. Contrary to common wisdom, the UK Independence party — and its leader — seem to be holding up fairly well under fire. There are plenty of accounts of the campaign … Continue reading

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‘General Election: the Parallels with 1970’s Shock Result’, Financial Times, 17 April 2015

Human beings are hard-wired to search for patterns and parallels — especially those that seem to confirm their existing prejudices. Hardly surprising, then, that politicians are so fond of comparisons between elections past and present, and so inclined to pick … Continue reading

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‘It’s competence, stupid: Labour should have done more with the Tories’ mistakes’, New Statesman, 1 April 2015

We live in an era of valence rather than position politics.  Like it or not, most voters prefer good government to grand ideological visions.  This does not mean to say that there is no place for narrative or for values.  … Continue reading

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Alan Bown’s Ukip polling only tells half the story, Telegraph, 18 December 2013

I’m not entirely sure how Ukip’s latest sugar-daddy, Alan Bown, has chosen the constituencies in which he’s commissioned polls, but they were presumably picked because they’re easily portrayed as precisely the sort of seats the Tories need to hold on … Continue reading

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Get a sense of humour: the Tories and Coalition, Spectator, 5 October 2013

Like so many pundits before me, I had earnestly hoped never to begin a piece on coalitions by quoting Disraeli.  But since I was asked by Bright Blue and the Electoral Reform Society to join Mrs Bone’s husband, as well … Continue reading

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Cameron and the Conservatives: a start of term report, PSA Blog, 27 September, 2013

Assurances over the summer that David Cameron was well on the way to healing relations with some of his backbenchers (via a combination of Number Ten BBQs, economic recovery and the PM’s support for the EU Referendum Bill) look a little optimistic … Continue reading

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