It may seem like a good idea now, but you won’t be laughing if they win

An inseparable novelty duo, embraced by an adoring nation in the wake of 90 minutes of TV, and propelled from being rank outsiders to serious contenders. If this election campaign really is the start of “X-Factor politics”, then enter Jedward. Nick Clegg and Vince Cable find themselves and their party at the front of the [...]

Am I the only one left uninspired by the TV debate?

Yes, it was original, yes, it was interesting, but did it tell me anything new? Absolutely not. The UK’s very first leaders’ TV debate was, for me at least, something of a flop and I cannot understand the great enthusiasm it seems to have generated, particularly in favour of Nick Clegg. If the debate served [...]

New to The Archive: David Howarth Q&A

David Howarth’s address to Clare Politics provoked an entertaining and animated Q&A session covering the future leadership of the Liberal Democrats and the perennial issue of electability.
As a brief preamble to the first question David characterized the Conservative Party as broadly a party of manoeuvre rather than ideological substance, and the Lib Dem party [...]