I’ve long been fascinated by how the pro-Brexit campaign’s lack of a plan for Brexit, prior to the 2016, actually helped the Leave side win that referendum. It gave Leave a sort of slippery quality in campaigning terms. “Oh no one is talking about putting up trade barriers!” Gove would say […]
Boris Johnson gave a speech about the next stage of Brexit earlier this week in Greenwich. The initial reactions mostly focused on how this was the UK Government setting out its stall that was at odds with the line the Commission’s negotiator Barnier outlined the same day. Then there was […]
A country where 42.4% of the vote gives a party a solid majority in Parliament. A country where a decent and ethical chair of a parliamentary committee is ousted in favour of a government lackey. A country where a report into foreign influence over its democratic procedures is swept under […]
This tweet of mine drew quite a lot of critique – why are you so sceptical, people asked. There is a pro-EU majority in the UK now. When Brexit really happens (i.e. when the transition period is over) people will see the damage that was done, and the UK can […]
Hey journalists! I’m glad to see you’re writing about trains! ÖBB running its first NightJet to Brussels seems to have got you into a particular frenzy. It’s amazing what a bit of red carpet at Gare du Midi, and Martin Selmayr on board, can do to generate a bit of […]
A few weeks back a friend and I were offered a Riese und Müller Birdy that dates from 2001. The hope was that we could make something of it and use it, as the thing had been sitting in a storage room unused for more than 5 years. The bike itself […]
“Jon, did you know?” a friend asked me today. “There’s now Eurostar Brussels to Amsterdam and it’s cheaper than the Thalys!” As a rail nerd I did of course know it exists but I have not had the chance to take it yet. But that gave me the idea for a […]
On Wednesday 15 January 2020, just under 2 months from now, I want to make a rail trip from Bruges in Belgium to Aix-en-Provence in France. What do I need to plan such a trip? The times of the trains, and an ability to book tickets. Shouldn’t be so hard. […]
First let’s get a few things out of the way. This post concerns only two parties – the Liberal Democrats and Labour – and in one part of the UK – England. It also will not get drawn on who is to blame as to why there has been no […]
⚠️ This is Version 8 of this post, re-written to make it all clearer to read. For the sake of transparency the older Version 3, Version 4, Version 5 and Version 6 of the post can be found here. NOTE the major Best for Britain data update 27 November is now […]
I was a member of the Labour Party from 1996 until 2013 when I quit and joined the German Greens (I explained my choice at the time here). However having been away from the UK only since 2012, and not yet having got German citizenship (it’s being processed), I still […]
I have been making flow diagrams since January 2019. Series 1 was more my effort to get to grips with this diagramming lark. Series 2 was the first with probabilities, and predicted a Brexit delay – and that’s what happened. Series 3 started after the European Elections in May 2019 […]
