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By Mike Ion / @MikeIon Tim Montgomerie's article in today's FT appears to revel in the fact that the latest survey of Conservative candidates in winnable seats indicates that his party is moving further and further to the right. Indeed he…
By Mike Ion / @MikeIon As the economic downturn bites further into household budgets many independent schools are facing merger or possible closure - though one hopes without the call for some type of private school bail-out to keep the…
By Mike Ion The news at the weekend that the Tories are "investigating" the use of 'aid vouchers' - redeemable for development services of any kind with an aid agency or supplier - is as revealing as it is somewhat depressing. Revealing…
By Mike Ion A recent ICM survey of 192 Labour-held marginals suggested that Labour is set to lose 164 of them to the Tories at the next general election. However the mathematics - as Mike Smithson over at PoliticalBetting pointed out - is a…
By Mike Ion This is a sad morning for all those in Britain who believe in equality and freedom. For the first time ever Britain has elected members of a fascist, racist party to a legislative body. The reasons for this are complex and…
By Mike Ion Self-indulgent, damaging and foolish. This is how I would characterise James Purnell's decision to leave the Cabinet. If the Labour party does lose the next general election it will not simply be Gordon Brown's fault - it will…
By Mike Ion The brinkmanship that North Korea is renowned for has suddenly moved into explosive new territory with the detonation of a 10 to 20-kiloton nuclear blast measuring some 4.7 on the Richter scale. The crisis shows North Korean…
By Mike Ion The piece about Stoke and the BNP in today's New Statesman makes for depressing reading. Partly because of its bleak analysis and partly because it fails to offer any hope or see any signs of how things might improve. We have…
By Mike Ion The news that Aung San Suu Ky is to face trial for breaching the conditions of her detention under house arrest puts the MP expense nonsense into perspective. Ms Suu Kyi will stand trial on 18 May and was yesterday taken to a…
By Mike Ion The coverage about the parliamentary expenses of members of the Cabinet in today's papers generates, as usual, a good deal of heat but precious little light. Of course, as Harriet Harman admitted this morning, "It looks bad,"…
By Mike Ion If the polls are to be believed Britain could well end up with a Tory government in the summer of 2010. Let's be clear about what this means. It does not mean a friendly, hood-hugging, vote blue go green, compassionate, one…
By Mike Ion It appears that Clare Short is in trouble for inviting Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to address MPs in Parliament. Meshal, the head of Hamas's political bureau and the target of a bungled Israeli assassination attempt in 1997, is…
