For years now Twitter has been my main professional social network. It is (or has been?) the way to keep in touch with what is going on in politics, and to seek to influence it in some way. I have also written a lot about it – all gathered here. […]
Recent Posts
What May’s resignation means for the Brexit process
So May has gone. Or at least said when she will go. Her statement today that she will stand aside on 7th June, together with the announcement by Brandon Lewis and others about the timetable for the leadership election that will conclude by mid July, gives us the framework. Into […]
In Germany everyone cares about the EU, but not really about the European Parliament election
A short while ago I needed to buy a plant pot so headed off to my local Hellweg DIY store. And EU flag was fluttering in front of the building, and placards inside told me “Hellweg zeigt Flagge für Europa!” (Hellweg is showing the flag for Europe!) Arriving back home […]
Britain’s democratic blind spot
Just over a year ago I was speaking on a panel about Brexit at King’s College London with Richard Graham, Tory MP for Gloucester. “The democratic tradition” Graham said in sickly smooth tone 23 minutes in, “is much deeper in the UK than anywhere else in the European Union.” He […]
Brexit, the final countdown – my Brexit tour!
So with less than a month to go until Brexit (or it being delayed or cancelled), I am setting off around Europe, talking to different groups about the UK’s exit from the EU, and what we can expect between now and 29.3.2019. Details of all the events are below and […]
The problem of the constituency link and parochialism in UK politics
Back a decade ago when I was building websites for politicians as a job, one of my clients wrote the following: I was born in a council house in Kendray, a district of Barnsley, on the 9th April 1955. Apart from my time at university I have always lived in […]
Brexit – what we know now, and how to still stop it
42 days to go to Brexit. Just over 1000 hours. And we still do not know what is going to happen in the Brexit saga. Yet as the clock ticks, some things become clearer. My Brexit diagrams have fewer branches. There are fewer possible outcomes. An early general election (or […]
4 years of simulation games about the EU – some reflections
It has been a while since I last wrote about teaching about the EU through simulation games. Now, in light of further experience, it is high time to return to this topic. I’ve now run 4 negotiation simulations at the College of Europe in Bruges (together with my colleagues Pierpaolo […]
Why are populists better at digital communication than the “mainstream”?
I gave a speech this week to PES members of the Committee of the Regions about digital communication in the run up to the European Parliament elections. The Q&A with the members was especially interesting, and one question – from a mayor from Greece – prompted me to write this […]
After the Brady Amendment, where next for Brexit? Even now, there is no majority for a Brexit Deal anywhere in sight
The House of Commons adopted two Amendments to its Brexit motion on Tuesday this week – the Brady Amendment to replace the Northern Ireland Backstop with “alternative arrangements”, and the Spelman/Dromey Amendment against a No Deal Brexit but lacking a mechanism to achieve that. The Cooper/Boles Amendment that would have […]
Labour should back a People’s Vote, but need not explicitly back Remain
Back in December I wrote that trying to break UK party politics was not the way out of Britain’s Brexit conundrum. The events of this past 7 days underline this even more. Back in December, 117 Tory MPs voted to No Confidence May as Tory leader. 118 voted against her […]
Brexit – where now? The flow diagrams
Looking for new diagrams? There is a whole new series from May 2019 onwards here! Diagrams as featured by The New York Times! I have tried to make sense of Brexit through a series of flow diagrams that have evolved as Brexit decisions have been taken. This blog post gathers […]
The @GreensEFA have a bunch of job openings in Brussels. Were I not in Berlin I'd be even apply myself 😜 https://www.greens-efa.eu/en/our-group/jobs/
This. Totally this.
And with a No Deal Brexit in the middle of it.
My view of the next few months was already pretty dark. Now it's darker still.
has anyone else switched to mentally preparing for a vaccine, normal travel, and a return to the office to take at least 9 to 12 more months
