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One of the iconic images of the early days of the Coalition — in the midst of the summer haze of the leggeron rose garden bromance — was The Economist’s front cover depicting the Prime Minister as a punk, representing the Coalition’s self-appointed claim to be one of the most radical governments in history. Economically [...]

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader… Here is re-elected London mayor Boris Johnson with his fellow Etonian, Tory leader David Cameron. After this week’s local election results, what do you think might be being said or thought by or about them? And the [...]

It’s a harsh reality that ‘Nick Clegg’ has become an easy punchline for many comedians. Nick can perhaps draw some comfort from the truth universally acknowledged that it’s better to be joked about than never to be joked about at all. But he can draw greater comfort from some of the polling evidence showing him [...]

David Cameron, it became clear today, was not impressed by Commons Speaker John Bercow’s decision to grant Labour leader Ed Miliband an urgent question on the subject of Jeremy Hunt’s hanging-by-a-thread career as culture secretary. His not-impressedness manifested itself as indignant anger — it was “spectacularly ill-judged” according to the Telegraph’s Iain Martin: From the [...]

Jeremy Hunt is in hot water today following the revelations at the Leveson Inquiry of the closeness of his relationship with the Murdochs during their attempted takeover of BSkyB. The culture secretary was handed quasi-judicial responsibility for handling the deal after Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable was snared by the Telegraph declaring war on [...]

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for Conservative Home offering some unsolicited advice to David Cameron’s party. I argued that a party that had achieved electoral success in the 1980s by appealing to the classless entrepreneurialism of aspirant ‘Middle England’ had once again become established in the electorate’s eyes as the party of [...]

We’re fast approaching the two-year mark of this first post-war Coalition Government, and I think it’s fair to say the strains are starting to show. It is inevitable there will be tensions when two parties — with different traditions, values, expectations — come together to try and govern a country at a time of economic [...]

A few encouraging signs today that the Government is prepared to have the strength of mind to think again about the ‘Charity Tax’. Encouraging sign #1 is that the right-wing press is up in arms about the proposal to hit charities’ bottom lines. Neither David Cameron nor George Osborne will take delight, for example, in seeing this Sun headline: Charity  [ Read More ]

It’s been a tumultuous week in the political world. So let’s have a look at how the three main party leaders led from the front in statesmanlike fashion… David Cameron played badminton in a suit… Ed Miliband bought sausage rolls in Greggs… … And Nick Clegg met President Obama to agree how the UK can [...]

For once, there IS a prize at stake. Better than that, there are TWO prizes. The best two entries of this week’s caption competition will each win a copy of former Labour MP Chris Mullin’s diaries, A View from the Foothills. The hit book has now been adapted for the theatre as A Walk On [...]