Politics

It seems that Labour’s bid to recapture Wakefield isn’t off to the best of starts. The resignation of Tory MP Imran Ahmad-Khan last month over historic sex offences gave Sir Keir Starmer’s party a chance to take back the seat it lost in 2019 and prove that Labour is on track to make gains in the Red Wall at the next election.  Unfortunately, a row has now broken out over attempts to ‘parachute’ favoured candidates into the constituency. The entire executive of the local Wakefield branch has this week resigned after party HQ shortlisted two members in its process to pick Labour’s candidate in the forthcoming by-election. Quite something, given that Sir Keir ran on

Few appreciate how mischievous Welsh devolutionists are when it comes to embedding themselves in the national consciousness. Take the Welsh translation for ‘first minister’, prif weinidog, which means ‘prime minister’. What was once a linguistic trick has now become an informal touch point in Wales. Regardless of his title, Mark Drakeford behaves, looks and sounds like a powerful national leader rather than a devolved minister. Few politicians exude such confidence but it should be no surprise: in the last year, Drakeford guided Welsh Labour to two triumphant victories in national and, more recently, local elections. He lectures the British Prime Minister on the future of the Union and then calls

Despite cable TV, streaming services and social media providing 1001 distractions, the Tory press charges on like an old, angry bull, its rage undiminished by the losses the technological revolution has inflicted on its readership and finances. You can fool yourself today that its power is back to its 20th century peak. The police had investigated Keir Starmer’s Durham campaign event and found he and his colleagues had broken no Covid rules. But day after day the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Daily Express hammered away at the story – fake or otherwise – and the cops felt they had no choice but to reopen the inquiry. I could go