It’s rather too easy to blame this on Brexit. The deeper problem is how Brexit interacted with a longstanding sense that all factions of Labour, centrist or leftist, don’t like the party’s traditional voters.

Source Direct: Agonising Labour Pains


Perhaps the real battle we should be watching isn’t in Scotland at all. Holyrood elections have the lacklustre aura of the foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, coastal, flyover and “red wall” England is continuing to remake British politics by refusing to return to the Labour Party.

Source Direct: Scotland and England’s Hart-lands


It’s interesting to compare Starmer’s lethargic opposition with events across the Atlantic. Joe Biden (nicknamed “Sleepy Joe”) is Starmer’s spiritual counterpart in more ways than one. But while Britain’s centre-left has snoozed through its alarms, Sleepy Joe has jolted awake.

Source Direct: Slothful Starmer and Sleepy Joe



They’ve elected an affable new leader. They’ve focused on covid recovery rather than the constitution – theoretically, that’s what the aggregate voter demands. And rivals are in turmoil: the Conservatives embroiled in corruption scandals; pro-independence parties suffering an acute identity crisis. Everything should add up to Scottish Labour success

Source Direct Election Profile: Scottish Labour


The case for Scotland remaining in the Union will partly depend on the credibility of Westminster’s opposition. Can we even imagine a non-Conservative government?

Source Direct: Prince Charming



After the coronavirus, many optimistically predicted that Boris Johnson’s “Red Wall” hegemony would be swept away by waves of resistance. However, Keir Starmer has been in charge for a year, and Labour is now back down at 32 percent.

Source Direct: Steer Kalmer