Defection and decline? What’s next for Badenoch’s Conservatives
Who’ll be the next defector? That seems to be the question on the mind of most Conservative MPs and grassroots members in these first weeks of 2026. Disgruntled Conservative councillors switching to Reform UK has become an almost routine weekly occurrence, and the defection of the party’s former MPs and Ministers rarely makes the top […]
Between a Grok and a Hard Place: A Test of Governance
Elon Musk’s social media platform X is under intense scrutiny in a controversy that raises serious questions about online safety laws. Its AI chatbot Grok stands accused of generating deepfake sexualised images from photographs of real people. Despite now pledging new restrictions to prevent these images being generated, if Ofcom concludes that X has failed in […]
Will Reform Stay Ahead In 2026?
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is threatening to rewrite the rules of British politics. Not since Labour’s breakthrough in the 1923 general election has an insurgent force been able to break a long-standing two-party dominance to form a government. The SDP came close in 1983. But in our two-party system close is nowhere. There is unlikely […]
Mild Optimism and Unrelenting Realism
Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a complex balancing act in her Budget tomorrow: honouring manifesto pledges, maintaining fiscal discipline, and maintaining market confidence – all while managing expectations with the public and within her own party. Every decision carries significance beyond the numbers, shaping perceptions of the Government’s competence, credibility, and control. Recent uncertainty – such […]
Caerphilly By-Election: No Prize for Second Place
Victory for Plaid Cymru and a strong second-place finish for Reform UK in last week’s Caerphilly by-election is being viewed as further evidence that Britain is entering a new era of multi-party politics. For the headline writers, Reform’s 36% vote share in the poll for a Senedd seat confirmed that the insurgent force is maintaining […]
Why Reeves is Talking Brexit
Budget Backdrop With the Autumn Budget on the horizon Rachel Reeves has returned to a theme that had, for a time, receded from political discourse: Brexit. In recent remarks, including at the International Monetary Fund annual meeting earlier this week, the Chancellor has drawn renewed attention to the economic legacy of the UK’s departure from […]
Conservative Party Conference: What To Expect
Leadership Speculation to Dominate The noise in run-up to this year’s Conservative Party Conference has been centred on Kemi Badenoch’s ailing leadership. Having been elected party leader just under a year ago, Badenoch has so far failed to turn around the party’s fortunes. The most recent polling average puts the Conservatives on just 18%, lower […]
Reform UK’s Conference: A Party Preparing for Power?
As MPs and their staff prepare to return to Parliament, the political pressure on Keir Starmer’s Government to deliver economic growth is ramping up. With inflation, unemployment and the cost of government borrowing all rising, the political fundamentals aren’t looking favourable. As Labour approaches the party conference season and what is shaping up to be […]
Outpacing The Threat: Future-Proofing UK Cyber Strategy
The keyboard is now a weapon of war, according to Defence Secretary John Healey. His warning earlier this year followed a series of high-profile cyber breaches across both the public and private sectors. The complexity and urgency of the threat the UK faces from both domestic and foreign actors requires a robust, coordinated national response. […]
What is driving the Reform UK surge? New Poll From Arden Strategies and JL Partners
Reform UK voters want to see government action to fix the NHS and curb the rising cost of living, a wide-ranging poll commissioned by Arden Strategies has found. The survey of more than 1,000 voters, carried out by JL Partners, is the most wide-ranging examination yet of the policy issues that concern the voters who […]
