By Steve Parkhurst, Senior Editor, USDR.
Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.
12-22-19
Corbyn’s cult have learnt nothing from the left’s last election wipeout
Today, however, there is one important difference with 1983. The Bennites had lost control of the party by the election but in 2019 Corbynites run Labour and are doing their best to ensure a latter-day Kinnock does not win the leadership.
Boris is the opulent Ghost of Christmas Present – that’s why he clobbered Corbyn the Scrooge
Getting the very thing one wants most of all in the whole wide world when one had resigned oneself to a brace of bath bombs can have a disorienting effect on the most stoic of souls.
This election made me fall in love with democracy again
It’s an unfashionable thought, but having spent many hours in the university sports hall where constituency votes for Boris Johnson and John McDonnell were counted, I feel freshly in love with democracy.
12-21-19
Disdainful metropolitan liberals are doing a disservice to British democracy
here is a pernicious mythology being fed into the public discourse by the indefatigable Remainer rump. It is also being adopted by the irreconcilable hard Left, because it serves their purposes for the moment too. That is, that the Conservative election victory – which was, of course, also another victory for Leave – was actually a defeat for the forces of Reason.
New Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey must prove his economic credentials
With three decades of experience at Threadneedle Street, Andrew Bailey was the “establishment choice” to run the Bank of England. Against an uncertain global economic backdrop, Bailey came through the field as the proverbial “safe pair of hands”.
12-20-19
Downing Street is keeping a beady eye on the BBC
Plus: The landslide that few dared to predict. How I once tried to become Monmouth’s MP. And: Happy Christmas to all my readers
12-19-19
What the election tells us about the Tory position in Wales and Scotland
The Party actually gained ground in both nations – but the Scots were overtaken by a Nationalist surge, whilst the Welsh were not.
12-18-19
At a crucial crossroads in Britain’s history, the BBC got it wrong – thank God the people got it right
The BBC certainly had a thousand ostrich eggs splattered on its face. Others were not so ready to believe that a hung parliament and a Prime Minister Corbyn (furiously waves garlic and crucifix) were a serious possibility. Last Thursday morning, I’d guessed a Tory majority of 42. Some gut instinct was telling me Boris could get a landslide, but hourly talking up of Labour’s prospects by the BBC and Sky News chipped away at my confidence.
For years, I’ve urged that the Conservatives become a Workers Party. Now it is one.
As the Prime Minister said, many people have lent us their vote, and they won’t be so generous next time if we get it wrong.
The coming battle for modern conservatism
Given the state of Labour, Boris Johnson’s opposition is likely to come from his own benches
As of last week, the Tories are Britain’s working-class party
The Prime Minister’s victory is on the same scale as Thatcher’s, but of a different kind. The implications of that could be huge.
The Bank of England tightens again
The employment figures last month were good again showing many more full time jobs still being created. The economy however has been slowed by the monetary and fiscal squeeze. Vacancies fell and wage growth reduced as the slowdown starts to reach the jobs market.
Boris Johnson is in a more powerful position now than Tony Blair was in 1997
Winston Churchill lost to Labour’s Clement Atlee, ushering in the NHS, the welfare state and a new era of progressive politics. Margaret Thatcher won a landslide, a response to economic stagnation, industrial chaos and years of decline. Tony Blair trounced the Conservatives, bringing down the curtain on an exhausted, deeply unpopular government.
12-17-19
Jeremy Corbyn has been told by furious MPs the election defeat was entirely his fault, amid claims that Labour will be damaged “every day” he remains in post.
The real reasons Labour lost
Labour is now so deep in a hole that the light must look like a mere pinprick
My ten-point West Midlands plan for the new Government
The Prime Minister was right to say many voters have only ‘lent’ us their votes. We must now earn that trust, by ensuring the benefits of life in a post-Brexit Britain reach all communities.
No delay to full exit at end of 2020
It is welcome and necessary for the government to rule out any further delay to our exit from the EU. The EU agreed to a Free Trade Agreement in principle. It is quite possible to produce one in time. If the EU thinks we will delay again they have an incentive not to agree anything.
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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a baseball beat writer, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst
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