‘For anyone who cares about peace within the British Isles and liberal democracy without, there are strong reasons to oppose Scottish independence. But how? In the 2014 referendum the case for the Union was made almost entirely in the unromantic terms of pounds and pence. It worked then, but it probably wouldn’t work now’

‘It is a sign of the speed and sure-footedness of Keir Starmer’s ascendancy that it now seems inconceivable that Labour could have elected anybody else. It is easy to forget that in the aftermath of the election on December 13, some pundits thought he might be crushed by the Corbyn machine’

Democracy triumphed in December’s election, but Scotland remains a significant Tory dilemma

"No one should miss the stench of cowardice, and yet there is no sign voters care or understand that cowardice runs through the British state"

‘In 2019, as Britain faces the prospect of its first truly radical left-wing government, Conservatives are nowhere near frightened enough. If they were, they would defend the checks the British constitution and European law place on power ’

‘If the Brexit Party is strong enough to help unseat Johnson in Uxbridge, then it will do the same to other Tories, meaning a hung Parliament’

‘There is nothing comfortable or comforting about modern British history’

‘Among large sections of the middle class, the belief in British good fortune and British good sense has vanished. Politically, I cannot see where their anger goes’

‘If we know one thing about Theresa May, it is that she always wants to carry on, however bad the outlook’

‘The real reason for former prime ministers not going to the Lords is their dislike of declaring how much they earn’