Finally, here’s the third installment on the Stoke-on-Trent politics special. We’ve spoken about Tristram Hunt’s career in The Potteries, and we’ve turned our attention to the local scene. Now it’s time to go all Mystic Meg and break out the politics astrology charts. For which party do the stars align? Labour have got to be the favourites. Stoke-on-Trent […]
Your guide to the Stoke Central by-election
Jan 17th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.This is the second post I promised about Stoke-on-Trent Central, Stoke Labour, and all things Stoke. If you want to read a short, potted political biography of Tristram Hunt’s time in The Potteries, here’s where you need to go. There’s going to be a third part too. This will address the prospects of the parties (a […]
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Goodbye to Tristram
Jan 16th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.It was nice for Stoke-on-Trent to make the news for something other than footy and the BNP. Less nice that it was my constituency party and my MP at the centre of it. Yes, as the world and its uncle now knows, Tristram Hunt is resigning the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat to take up the leadership of the Victoria & […]
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The Return of David Cameron
Jan 11th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.He’s been gone five minutes, and already he’s poised for a comeback. According to The Indy, David Cameron is Theresa May’s nomination for the next NATO general secretary. This, according to Michael Fallon, is part of a move that would deepen Britain’s commitment to the alliance to make up for Brexit. Presumably that would involve an extra […]
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What is Corbynism?
Jan 9th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.We have a good idea what “physical” Corbynism is: it’s a movement. Since Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party, it has swollen in size to accommodate hundreds of thousands of new members. These huge numbers cannot be laid at the door of the “usual suspect” activist community, let alone the thinning ranks of British […]
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The Dirty Politics of a Clean Brexit
Jan 3rd, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.We’re used to the Leave campaign lying. They made stuff up during the referendum campaign, and there’s no let up even during the Christmas holidays. Change Britain is a “cross-party” outfit active across all the main social media platforms, and it made a bit of a splash today with its report doubling down on the notorious and […]
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Unite General Secretary election: Who is Ian Allinson?
Dec 19th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Here’s another election we can look forward to: the position of General Secretary in my union, Unite. The incumbent, Len McCluskey has announced his intention to stand down next year, effectively calling a by-election. If he’s victorious, it will allow him to serve out a full term before he heads off into retirement some time […]
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On Sleaford and North Hykeham
Dec 12th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Only two things have come out of Sleaford. Those mods (well, their name anyway) and predictions of imminent doom for the Labour Party. Yes, at the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election, Labour failed to turn in a creditable performance. It dropped seven points, the Tories and kippers lost a couple apiece, and the LibDems surged past from nowhere […]
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Who is Paul Nutall?
Nov 30th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Who’s that knight on a white charger? Why, it’s none other than Paul Nuttall, Eddie Hitler look-a-like and the latest leader of our purple friends in the United Kingdom Independence Party. His election by a landslide suggests a desire on the part of the party’s much-reduced membership (of which, 15,500 out of 33k cast a […]
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Hammond’s programme differs from Osborne only by degree
Nov 25th, 2016 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Compare and contrast. A confident figure seizing the moment and pledging a radical remaking of Britain. Yes, Theresa May looked formidable on the steps of Downing Street in July. She had stolen Labour’s 2015 Manifesto and she was going to get away with it. Wind the film forward to November, and her chancellor gets up and lays […]
