On the face of it, the plight of the Government today is much, much worse than was David Cameron’s in 2014. Yet few people can think that Reform UK poses anything like the threat to the Tories that UKIP did ten years ago.
Forget the Overton Window, this is the Overton Precipice – the art of teetering on the brink without going over it.
Meanwhile Penny Mordaunt overleaps Kemi Badenoch to take top billing after being front and centre in the row over Speaker Hoyle a couple of weeks ago.
Just over one fifth preferred no increase in the military budget and more tax cuts. Grant Shapps’ demands for more cash have cut through with members – but show little sign of having persuaded the Treasury.
The former has once again been returned to Parliament at the head of a minor party. Yet it was the latter who, despite never entering the Commons, wrought the real, transformative change.
Private security guards will soon be deployed at constituency events. MPs most at risk will be able to apply for 24/7 protection. Funds “will also pay for increased security such as CCTV, alarms and sensors required at MPs’ homes or constituency offices.”
Voters can lean towards a lower limit and favour decriminalisation for the same reason they can favour higher spending and lower taxes. It is the duty of politicians to do better.
There is some truth to the claim that there has been a big shift in power away from Parliament and a narrowing of politics – but in the British constitution, a government with a majority could fix that.
More are reportedly saying that they will back a no-confidence vote if Sir Lindsay Hoyle doesn’t indicate that he’s stepping down. It would be quite something if his manoeuvre to get Starmer out of a tough spot ended up inflicting fresh dissension on the Conservatives.
Sacked Post Office chair’s damning memo puts Kemi Badenoch in dangerous territory.
Who decides which “ordinary people” get a hearing? Which studies are examined? Without parties or partisanship, what prevents a handful of dominant individuals railroading the others into a false consensus?
Party strategists will be concerned that Reform UK managed to post double-digit vote shares in both Kingswood and Wellingborough. But the mortal danger is Labour, and Conservatives cannot afford to forget it.
So-called real recall had much to commend it over the version we got, which concentrates power with the parliamentary authorities. But it too could have been used to curb the independence of MPs.
Sombre warnings from politicians and generals are entirely at odds with decades of what can be fairly described as a deeply unserious approach to defence.
Also: SNP plunged into fresh controversy over misleading claim about healthcare spending, whilst Kate Forbes gears up for an internal battle over the Scottish Government’s income tax plans.