Britain's Tory Blowout

Conservative Blowout in Britain Puts Brexit Back on Track, Daily Signal, December 13, 2019. "Though the last votes are still being counted, it is clear that Britain’s Conservatives have won an overall majority in Thursday’s general election."

The End of the Do Nothing Parliament

Boris Johnson’s Projected Victory in British Election is Profoundly Encouraging for US, Fox News, December 13, 2019. "For the U.S., the British results are profoundly encouraging. The fact is that Britain has rejected the pre-election, do-nothing status quo."

Theresa Couldn't Do It

A Leader, But Not for All Seasons, Newsday, June 9, 2019. "I have often commented that May could have been a successful prime minister in a different age, because she has genuine talents. Above all, inside a settled system, she was an effective administrator. Unfortunately, she was tasked with presiding over Brexit, an unsettled system."

So, Why Not Boris?

Theresa May Will Be Gone in Days. Why Not Meet With Boris Johnson?, Daily Signal, June 3, 2019. "There are big issues at stake in this visit, as there always are in the Anglo-American relationship. And big issues are often controversial ones. From Britain’s relationship with Huawei to its support for the Iran nuclear deal, and most importantly of all, Brexit, the president has lots to discuss."

Good Riddance

Prime Minister Theresa May to Resign, Daily Signal, May 24, 2019. "The reason for May’s fall is simple. She was given responsibility for negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union, and she made a mess of it by arriving at an agreement that virtually no one in Britain likes. Her efforts to pass the agreement ended up trying to cut a deal with Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party and deeply despised by Conservative voters."

A Tip For the British Conservatives

In Australia, Conservatives Won A Shock Victory. There’s A Lesson Here for Conservatives Worldwide, Daily Signal, May 22, 2019. "Here’s a tip for our British Conservative friends: Conservative parties that do conservative things win elections. Conservative parties that don’t do them, or don’t know what to do, don’t win elections."

Step One . . .

Want Populism? Here’s How to Get It, Newsday, May 12, 2019. "Earlier this month, Britain went to the polls in local elections. So far, it’s been immune to the electoral turmoil that has affected Europe from Greece to France. But not this time. The British elections show that a simple way to create a political disaster is for the major parties to not keep their word."

The Conservative Dilemma in Britain

Are Britain’s Conservatives Dead?, Daily Signal, October 4, 2017. "A year ago—even six months ago—Britain’s Conservative Party was riding high. It had won an unexpected victory in the 2015 election. Then, in June 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union—a result that delighted most voters on the right, and quite a few on the left too. And at the start of the summer, the Conservatives looked set for a smashing, historic victory in the elections of June 2017. Well, that didn’t happen. The Conservatives won a narrow victory, but the margin was so close, and the collapse against expectations so catastrophic, that the victory felt—feels—like a loss."

The Anglo Tendency in American Politics

Conservatism Across the Atlantic, Centre Wright, published by Bright Blue, Autumn 2017 issue on "Conservatism Refresh," September 30, 2017, article only available in PDF. "In the era of Trump, it would be easy to conclude that the greatest challenge facing conservatism in the United States is its tendency to fratricide. That is a challenge not unknown in Britain. But in the US, the more serious challenges come from shifts in the underlying political and ideological structure of the nation. These challenges, too, have their parallels in the United Kingdom."

Like A Duck Hit on the Head

One Tory's Story, Weekly Standard, June 26, 2017. "After one of his many unfortunate generals sustained a particularly abject defeat, Abraham Lincoln remarked that the man was "confused and stunned like a duck hit on the head." Such is the state of the Conservative party after the U.K. general election of June 8, an election the party felt sure it would win overwhelmingly but in which it somehow contrived to lose seats. Though technically a victory, in that the Tories remain the largest and governing party, it was in every other sense—and especially as judged against expectations—a profound and confusing defeat."

The Worrying Decline of the Establishment

The Disturbing Decline of Europe’s Left, Newsday, April 23, 2017. "British Prime Minister Theresa May shocked her nation last week by calling an early election, to be held on June 8. Her Conservative Party is likely — though not certain — to win, a result that would end all doubt that Britain will leave the European Union. But it’s not Conservative strength in Britain that’s the most impressive. It’s the weakness of the opposition left-wing Labour Party. It’s not just Labour that’s weak. All across the continent, the left is in trouble, just as the EU is. And the EU’s problems are the left’s."

The Latest British Election

In Britain, Conservatives Seek a Mandate from Voters, Daily Signal, April 18, 2017. "On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May shocked Britain by calling for an early general election, which will be held on June 8. This election will decide the fate of her government and Brexit. In many ways, May’s decision to “go to the country”—British slang for calling an election—is the way it should be."

In Praise of the Freedom Association

Britain’s CPAC Celebrates Brexit, Daily Signal, March 20, 2017. "Britain’s fourth annual Freedom Festival, organized by the Freedom Association and held in the traditional seaside resort of Bournemouth, concluded on Sunday. Like the U.S. Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the festival brings together conservatives and libertarians to discuss, debate—and this year, to celebrate."

Cheerful Conservatives in Birmingham

"The Conservatives Are Actually Happy in the United Kingdom," Weekly Standard, October 6, 2016, " in London by train from Gatwick Airport, you pass Battersea Power Station on your right. Derelict for more than 30 years, it is an iconic, vast, roofless, brick structure, with tall white smokestack towers. In the years since it last produced a watt of power, it has hosted raves, Dr. Who episodes, and James Bond movies. What it has not done is anything of enduring use. But this time, as I trundled past, there were modular apartments going up around the power station, and cranes working on the inside. The next day, the reason for the activity was announced: The power station, renovated and reconstructed at no small expense, is to be Apple's new U.K. headquarters, and a new center of retail and life besides. We were told that, after Brexit, no one would want to invest in Britain. Evidently someone forgot to tell Apple."

Tilting At Windmills

"Brexit Was A Reality Check Which Tories Must Now Implement," Yorkshire Post, October 1, 2016, "Three of Britain’s political parties have more or less given up on politics as we understand the term. They are crusaders who would rather tilt at windmills than enter the field of combat. They prefer to lose in purity than to compromise and win."

I Am Utterly Shocked By These Events

Who Could Possibly Have Expected This Anti-Semitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party?, Weekly Standard Online, with Robin Simcox, April 29, 2016. "Utterly, totally unexpected developments are occurring in Britain's Labour Party, which is led by Jeremy Corbyn, a man who once described Osama bin Laden's death as "an assassination attempt, and . . . yet another tragedy, upon a tragedy, upon a tragedy." It turns out—and certainly, no one could possibly have seen this coming—that some of Corbyn's supporters don't like Jews very much."

On the Difference Between Donald Trump and a Communist

The Very Unlikely Political Parallels Between Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn, Yorkshire Post, January 29, 2016. "Donald Trump’s surprising buoyancy in the Republican primary contest strikes many Britons as inexplicable. But then I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around Jeremy Corbyn. Yet, as political phenomena, the two actually aren’t so far apart." (Published under my own name.)

For Corbyn, Like Curly, Something's Turned Up

Do the Corbyn Shuffle, Weekly Standard, January 21, 2016. "The only thing less impressive than the backing for Jeremy Corbyn inside Britain's Labour Party is its opposition to him. When Corbyn won his shock bid for the leadership of the party in September, it seemed unlikely that a man who started with the support of fewer than 20 Labour MPs would hold the job for long. But now, the chances he'll be ousted soon are dropping. Meeting with Corbyn's opponents inside the party is a dispiriting experience. Blairites all, they give the impression of being short on policy ideas as well as constructive plans for opposition, and of being on a slow journey past anger and denial toward something that looks uncomfortably like acquiescence, though certainly not acceptance. So much has changed that it's hard to believe that Blair was Prime Minister less than a decade ago."

When the Tory Music Stops

Tories Count on Labour’s Looniness – For Now, National Review Online, October 9, 2015. "The annual conference of Britain’s Conservative party, which commands a slender but welcome parliamentary majority after the May elections, wrapped up on Wednesday in Manchester. If last year’s conference was an exercise in nerves and jitters, this year’s was a display of confidence — coupled with quiet grumbles from within the party, and shouts of rage from outside of it."

Insiders and Outsiders, Risks and Safety

Tory Safety First Strategy Is Not Without Its Risks, Yorkshire Post, October 7, 2015. "One striking fact is that Conservative voters in Britain appear to be the only ones in both nations who aren’t hungering for an outsider. A new poll from ConservativeHome finds that safe George Osborne is now the Tory favourite to follow safe David Cameron as Prime Minister."