42, Northern Ireland and Cameron’s non-leadership

Is it me or is there a link between the government’s (possibly premature, possibly not) triumphalism about winning round the Labour rebels over the Terrorism Bill and the latest political crisis in Northern Ireland? For weeks now, it has been well known that the Brown government has been courting the DUP with a view to… Continue reading 42, Northern Ireland and Cameron’s non-leadership

Tory calls to make maths “chic” badly miss the point

Reform is an interesting think tank. They claim to be non-partisan and solely interested in the neutral pursuit of “a better way to deliver public services and economic prosperity” yet in reality have a tendency to favour reforms which involve a reduced role for the state and are not at all surprisingly firmly on the… Continue reading Tory calls to make maths “chic” badly miss the point

Has Labour got two Balls?

Is it me or is there a disconnect between Ed Balls, the stalwart defender of playgrounds and opponent of compo culture, who two months ago was saying this: “If you don’t want to do something a bit risky, too often people say ‘we can’t do that because of health and safety’. “It is the risk… Continue reading Has Labour got two Balls?