“Good old Nigel” is often doing “one more term” because he thinks there is no-one else, whereas in reality no-one else will come forward until “Good old Nigel” retires.
The clamour about last week’s elections and June’s EU referendum is obscuring the deep problems that the Government and the country face.
A snap guide.
“The deficit deniers have taken over the Opposition.”
Plus: Loathsome Winston McKenzie. Alex Salmond, Thatcher fan. The indestructible Keith Vaz. And: my interview with Charles Moore is well worth a listen.
A 58 per cent rise in the tax over the last two decades should serve as a warning against further hikes.
Plus: Cameron blew it. So did Hammond. And: My friendship with Tony Benn.
The re-warding debate is like the captain of the Titanic busily re-ordering the placement of the deckchairs while his ship is heads towards an iceberg.
It can no longer afford to be caught between the noise of Scottish nationalism to the North and a resurgent Leeds and Manchester to the South.
The mayoral selection process has produced new heights of bureaucratic excess, to the extent that party officers cannot even locate their colleagues in other associations.
Plus: Let’s have three bands of income tax. Red sky at night, my Shepherds delight. And: see you in Finchley tomorrow for my Conservative Mayoral Candidate Hustings.
Also: Welsh doctors bullied for reporting concerns; Police Scotland to sell a quarter of its properties; opposition may block council reform in Wales.
The Housing Bill will enable all social tenants to benefit from the Right to Buy, rather than have ownership dictated by whoever happens to manage their property.
And they wouldn’t let me say so when standing in their elections.