“Another week, and another remarkable series of events in the Eurozone. Lucas Papademos was sworn in Friday as Prime Minister of Greece, prompting a market surge. The day after, Berlusconi resigned as Italian PM, with former European Commissioner Mario Monti a probable successor. When stock markets open on Monday morning,...
“In yesterday’s Observer Ed Miliband wrote a piece entitled “business, finance and politics are out of touch with people”, talking of how the protests at St Paul’s have highlighted the growing gulf between the values of ordinary people and those of The City. The problem for Ed, and indeed any...
“The government talks about repatriation of EU powers. What does this actually mean, and could it work? The only solution the government seems to be able to offer to its braying backbenchers in light of last week’s debate on an EU referendum is to propose to repatriate powers to the...
“Tomorrow’s debate and vote on an EU referendum in the House of Commons is a problem largely of David Cameron’s own making. It was he who, in November 2009, made a u-turn on his cast iron guarantee that the Tories would hold a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. The...
“It’s far from clear how Labour should deal with the growing argument about a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the European Union Today MPs on the Backbench Business Committee have agreed to debate and, crucially, to vote on whether the UK should stay in the European Union. The debate is...
“Today’s good news: Roger Helmer is standing down as a Member of the European Parliament. He says its because he disagrees with nine-tenths of Tory policy, and his statements have become more and more shrill and reactionary over the years. In the list-based election system used in the UK, it’s...
“Just as une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps (one swallow does not make a summer), une primaire ne refait pas un parti politique (one primary does not remake a party). But looking back at yesterday’s first ever US-style primary to decide the French Socialist Party’s candidate to oppose incumbent...
“Few in Labour would have noticed it taking place, but President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso delivered his annual ‘State of the European Union’ address (highlights here) on Wednesday this week, at the moment when Labour politicians and activists had their full focus on conference. Labour would do...
“As last week’s column appeared on LabourList, voters in Berlin were going to the polls to choose the 149 members of the Abgeordnetenhaus, the parliament for the state of Berlin and one of the 16 states of Germany. Full election results can be found here. At one level little changed...
“Denmark’s general election took place on Thursday. My column here on August 30th covered the lay of the land as the campaign started. So what actually happened? And what does it tell us? The headline result – a narrow victory for the left, and a new Prime Minister (Helle Thorning-Schmidt)...
“It’s hard to imagine how, had they won in 2010, a Labour government would be facing the EU’s current economic and political woes. Labour’s words about the European Union were always softer and more favourable than the Tories’, but Blair’s commitment to put Britain at the heart of Europe always...
“Back at the 2010 general election I was always the one given the odd direct mails to deliver in the constituency where I was volunteering. Why? Because, armed with an iPhone with GPS and Google Maps, I could find the places no-one with a regular map could locate. Since then,...