General election 2015
Sam Waley-Cohen’s Grand National notebook
‘How’s your shoulder?’ someone asked recently, and it was only then I realised, for the first time in a while,…
Is this election a Champions League game? Or Millwall vs Brighton?
I’ve been trying to think of a good football analogy to describe the battle between the two main parties as…
Nick Clegg’s public-school insult
Married to a public-school man (I almost said boy) for many a long year, I can’t bring myself to disqualify…
A censored hymn to motorway misery
Service record The government is to form a design panel to improve motorway services stations. These have not always charmed…
He’ll never admit it, but David Cameron is already plotting another deal with Nick Clegg
The Prime Minister could never admit it, but he’s dreaming of – and scheming for – another coalition
Alex Salmond sets out his terms for Ed Miliband
‘Would you like a glass of pink champagne?’ asks Alex Salmond at 3.30 p.m., sounding very much like a man…
How (and why) we lie to ourselves about opinion polls
A strange ritual takes place on Twitter most evenings at around 10.30 p.m. Hundreds of political anoraks start tweeting the…
The Conservatives should be the party of immigrants — and here’s how they can be
For a long while, the Conservatives have been puzzled about their lack of popularity among immigrants. In theory, the Conservative…
Portrait of the week
Home In a Budget intended to have ‘no gimmicks, no giveaways’, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, offered pensioners…
Danny Alexander’s diary: Trying to put an undercover reporter at ease, and the unicorn poop question
It’s dangerous, in my line of work, to promise you’ll be anywhere by 8 p.m. I made this mistake recently,…
A typical coalition Budget – designed to put the Tories back in power
George Osborne usually tells his aides to prepare for each Budget as if it were his last. This time round,…
Kitty Fisher’s: proof that the PM has good taste in restaurants, if not in friends
David Cameron is too cowardly, or too cynical, to debate with Ed ‘Two or Possibly Three Kitchens’ Miliband — which…
Wanted: a party leader willing to talk about defence
In the 1984 US presidential election, Ronald Reagan came up with an effective way of embarrassing his rival Walter Mondale…
Andy Burnham interview: 'I wanted a different approach, because I'm mainstream Labour'
Andy Burnham on the NHS, ‘mainstream Labour’ and his party’s leadership
How to make Ukip supporters love green policies
Few people know this, but hidden within the FedEx logo, between the E and the x, there is a small…
It’s now clear: David Cameron was never a real moderniser
I have a friend who was a Young Conservative. Just the one, I promise, and he’s grown out of it…
George Osborne interview: smaller government is not enough
George Osborne on his love affair with Greater Manchester, and his party’s need for ‘a bit of the Heseltine’
Today’s TV debates are pointless – here’s the real thing
Ancients would have been astonished that parties never debate against each other in open, public forum except on the telly…
No one wants to fight a national campaign. This will be the least general election in years
There’s normally an easy way to tell which party is losing a general election campaign. Whenever one side starts telling…
Why an SNP surge at Westminster could mean the end of Britain
A landslide for the SNP will inevitably lead to the end of the Union
Why the Lib Dems aren’t scared of this election (and why they should be)
One of the most remarkable features of this parliament has been the sangfroid of the Liberal Democrats. Nothing seems to…
VE day anniversary: why politics will take second place the day after the election
Will politics take second place the day after the election?
In this election, won't someone please weaponise defence?
Britain is forfeiting its position on the world stage. With no national debate, we are surrendering our claim to be…
The Tories are coming to believe in David Cameron's election hunch
‘You did this,’ David Cameron repeatedly declared to Tory donors as he reeled off a list of the government’s achievements…
Proof that the schools revolution isn’t over
For those who assumed that the removal of Michael Gove as Education Secretary marked the end of the Conservatives’ scholastic…
