Politics is bad at setting the right boundaries, but good at choosing priorities within boundaries. Why not change the terms of the fiscal debate by abandoning the pointless fight over the Comprehensive Spending review in favour of creating a National … Continued

On Sunday I took part in an enjoyable discussion for the House of Comments podcast on coalitions, Andrew Adonis’s ’5 days in May’, which you can listen to here, if you so choose. This also reminds me that I haven’t … Continued

Amidst tumultuous political brouhaha and the confusion of ever-shifting public opinion, I have a North star which guides me true on whether my beloved Labour party prospers or falters. I scorn the polls, the sages, the seers, the cacophony of … Continued

Health warning: In trying to research this article, it became ever clearer to me that I am about as far from an expert in Housing policy as it’s possible to get. So I offer the below in both the hope … Continued

Andrew Adonis’s excellent ‘Five Days in May’ has left me with five questions. I asked the first yesterday, and here are the second and third: Q2: Where were the PLP? One of the noticeable missing elements in Labour’s approach to … Continued

Andrew Adonis’s ‘Five days in May‘ is a fascinating account of a road not taken. It is the story of a negotiation that failed, from the perspective of someone who desperately wanted it to succeed. The book is a gripping, … Continued

Never interrupt your enemy when he is the process of making a mistake. Good advice. While the Conservative party is tearing itself apart with serial euro-idiocy, it’s probably best for the Labour party to join much of the rest of … Continued

Labour’s strategic choices are a central topic for political debate at the moment. In my Policy Network ‘State of the left’ column and in a recent post I’ve talked a bit about the three strategic choices facing Labour. I’ve described … Continued

A couple of years back, I was asked if I’d help out a Labour MP with a speech on the (then) upcoming AV referendum. When we discussed the issue, said politician was keen on making the point that in the … Continued

The way we discuss Universalism in Britain is utterly, utterly stupid. What is a Universal benefit? Just as the ‘universal credit’ isn’t anything like universal, the one thing a universal benefit isn’t, is a universal benefit. Instead, a universal benefit … Continued