If politics is theatre, one of the defining features of the form is the presence of the on-stage critics – the media, or more specifically, the big name opinion leaders. They would like to imagine themselves as a Greek chorus commenting on the drama, but if they are, they’re a Greek chorus composed of unreliable…
Read More The failure of the on-stage criticSo we’re having a moment about John Boyd: The really interesting thing about the Dom Cummings appointment is that we now have someone in charge of No10 who is a devotee of Col. John Boyd, whose central thesis was to confuse your enemy and do the opposite of what they expect (1/4). — Damian McBride…
Read More Round and Round the OODA Loop: Folk Boyd and the BrexitersA lot of people seem to believe that the UK can solve its Brexit problems by “just staying in the single market” or a similar form of words. To put it another way, the underlying theory here is that the European Economic Area agreement gives the European single market an existence independent of the European…
Read More Can you “just stay in the single market”?This piece from Bridget Phillipson MP makes a strong case that a hypothetical second referendum campaign would need to be much more unashamedly European and come in from a more marked left-wing direction. Relatedly, Aditya Chakrabortty says that: I can’t see any way for remain to secure a convincing victory, apart from to present itself…
Read More You can’t run as an insurgent if you agree with the government, and you might have toI originally drafted this post as the second on Tim Shipman’s book last autumn. Having found and re-read it I have revised it, among other things to go with Jonathan Portes’ appreciation for Sir Jeremy Heywood, the signing of a Brexit agreement, and the outing of the American Friends of the IEA An interesting thought…
Read More #AllOutWar On the InstitutionsThis Pro Publica story about CPAP machines has been doing the rounds because of Eric Umansky’s experience with the one that reported back how much he was sleeping to some…thing…that decided it wasn’t enough, and therefore remotely bricked his sleep aid so he’d…whatever. But I think trying to force fit this into a mould about…
Read More How Not to Join a Coasian Hell: BrexitA quick thought on the famous Tory letters. If you want to spill the Tory leader, you need a set percentage of the Tory MPs to write to the 1922 Committee chairman. The current trigger level is 48, and the current chairman is Graham Brady MP. There is a lot of mystery about the process,…
Read More How many letters?So, about a year ago, I was writing about how the last thing Eurosceptics agreed on was what they were against. Now, it’s a commonplace to argue about whether Jeremy Corbyn – or some other politician, but usually him – is “really a Eurosceptic”. I think this question is no longer meaningful in the terms…
Read More What are Eurosceptics?So, people have been going on about “Singapore” again. Last week I had to look up information about Singaporean data protection laws – that’s life in the private sector, folks! – and I found something interesting. Brexit fans are very keen on the idea that you could somehow be a “business hub” outside the EU…
Read More SingaporeI don’t know about you, but this seems worrying. Wednesday’s Derby Telegraph: When Toyota announced plans to invest £240 million in its Burnaston plant, the car giant called for continued tariff- and barrier-free access between the UK and Europe. Mr Leroy expressed his concerns about the Government’s approach to Brexit in an interview with Reuters…
Read More Very real very real concerns: Derby, Ellesmere Port, and Luton