Vaughan Wilkins gives Queen Victoria's wicked uncles both barrels and Private Eye has more on HakluytThe spooky "strategic advisory" firm Hakluyt that occasionally features in Private Eye. That was me blogging the other day. And today I bought the new Eye and found that it has featured again: One of Keir Starmer's first appointments as prime minister in July 2024 was that of Varun Chandra, head of the Hakluyt intelligence consultancy, as investment and trade adviser (while he retained a stake in the firm, as revealed in Eye 1629).and: As Mandelson's appointment worked its way through the clearance procedure, with everything hanging on the Foreign Office permanent secretary, who should arrive in this role? One ... (more) |
What went wrong with the vetting of Peter Mandelson?The latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: [IMG: The House of Lords] The chamber was not quite this full when I spoke. Photograph © House of Lords 2025 / photography by Roger Harris. I responded on behalf of the Liberal Democrats to two government statements in the House of Lords this week. I'll write more about the one on Capita ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1511"Opinion polls consistently suggest that after the elections on 7 May, England will be flanked by countries run by restless centre-left nationalist parties - Plaid Cymru in Cardiff, the Scottish National party in Edinburgh and, in Belfast, Sinn Féin, which shares power with the Democratic Unionists." Severin Carrell and Bethan McKernan say next week's elections could reshape UK. "Real names becomes a tool for bullies online - and will force victims either to accept the bullying or avoid using the internet. This, of course, is not just true for bullies, but for overbearing parents, sadistic teachers and much worse. It ... (more) |
Ed Davey speech: We can't let Trump's America become Farage's BritainEd Davey announced today a package of new Lib Dem policy aimed at ensuring that foreign actors have less influence in our politics. He called for: Banning payments from X and other social media platforms to politicians in the UK, including MPs. Prohibiting anyone who has served a foreign administration from donating to UK political parties, think tanks, or campaign groups. Banning foreign-funded online political adverts altogether. The party will pursue these through amendments to the Representation of the People Bill. Watch here. The text is below Next week millions of people across Britain will go out to cast their ... (more) |
A year of being gaslitThe evidence, one year on from For Women Scotland A year ago this month, a judgment about the meaning of words in a single Act was received, by many people, as a ruling on what I am. The judgment in For Women Scotland ruled that trans women, including those holding a Gender Recognition Certificate, are not "women" for the purposes of the Equality Act's sex provisions. What it did not do was make any ruling about identity, personhood, or what trans women are. That gap, between a statutory definition and a statement about human beings, is where a year's worth ... (more) |
Our King's visit to the USA tells me why I do not want to see a Presidential system in the UKIt has been interesting to me to see the reaction to King Charle's visit to the USA from the perspective of people and newspapers on both side of the Atlantic. Across both sides of the Atlantic the question of 'Kings' has been a hot topic item for quite distinct reasons and in very different circumstances. It was interesting to see a White House tweet with a picture of King Charles and Trump claiming that there were two kings in the picture. But there could not be a greater contrast between the two men and the two systems. King Charles reacted ... (more) |
The Alan Price Set: Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing BearI loved this when I was a little boy in the Sixties and I still love it now. The trumpet player here is John Walters, who went on to become John Peel's producer at Radio 1. (more) |
The Mandelson debacle - Implications, Part 2 (remedies)On 25th April 2026 I wrote in LDV about the longer-term political background to the Mandelson debacle, referencing his time on Lambeth Council and the rise of the anti-left in the Labour Party, alongside the formation of the SDP, which partially sprung from there (see yesterday's Guardian article). The main conclusion of the LDV article was that Mandelson's political orientation was shaped by opposition to the far-left in the Labour Party, (reinforced by the militant left's control of Lambeth Council in the 1970s and 1980s). Mandelson's close colleagues then, such as the subsequently ennobled Roger Liddle, Matthew Oakeshott, and the ... (more) |
What are the consequences of freezing private sector rents in Wales?As we approach polling day for the Welsh Senedd at least two of the parties are promising or are hinting at a private sector rent freeze in Wales so as to help people with the cost of living. However, there may well be consequences of introducing such a policy and the evidence is already there to prove it. The Guardian reports that shares in some of the UK's biggest buy-to-let lenders such as Paragon and One Savings Bank have fallen after it emerged that the chancellor may make private landlords commit to a one-year rent freeze. The paper says that ... (more) |