I'm always wary of regional analysis as on the night it usually turns out that the pattern is different from what we expected. But as HYUFD has said, there has been a very clear, substantial swi… (View Post)

In 15 years working there, I never heard anyone suggest it was problematic - it was just a minor part of the fiscal scenery and people paid it without grumbling. (View Post)

Gordon lowered income tax by 1p, I think because it was counter-intuitive and showed how New Labour we all were. I've never met anyone at the time or since who evinced the slightest pleasure abo… (View Post)

I've a little bit of sympathy for him on this - it's clearly embarrassing, but how far are politicians responsible for their relatives' activities and need to be ready to be quizzed ab… (View Post)

I agree about the difficult choices. The tone was an issue, as you say - Sunak looking terribly pleased with himself, Johnson chortling randomly behind him (even when Sunak was talking about sufferin… (View Post)