Mike Holden - Politics blogs

At weekend, Boris Johnson gave the bag of Cabinet balls a good shake, meaning we're quite possibly in for another round of Leadership Bingo! But who will get the Key of the Door and replace One Little (lame) Duck? Will it be Boris "Duck and Dive" Johnson? Maybe Phillip "Legs Eleven" Hammond will tunnel through to next door? Michael "Any way Up" Gove? Or even Jacob "Burlington Bertie" Rees-Mogg - though he represents 1830 so is unlikely to feature in many games of Bingo, even Government ones. One thing is for certain - it'll definitely be Unlucky for some, and Theresa's card is well and truly marked. (That concludes the Bingo metaphor). Boris Johnson is a narcissistic serial liar with no principles beyond his own advancement. I was going to use that as the headline but it doesn't even count as news. His intervention at weekend has, as planned, not only propelled him back into the spotlight he so craves, it has simultaneousl...

This may sound crazy, but I’m about to explain how the current plans in Parliament could allow Government to postpone the next General Election if it sees fit, and for as long as it chooses. The Government has won two votes in Parliament this week - the second reading of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (formerly the Great Repeal Bill), and a change to the makeup of Parliamentary Committees. The interaction between these two grants Government powers beyond imagination and reason. Firstly, a bit of Parliamentary background for those who don’t already know it (and aren’t already bored stupid by Parliamentary shenanigans). - ADVERTISEMENT - Statutory Instruments (Sis) are a mechanism by which ministers can make minor changes to existing laws without the full argy-bargy of Parliament. For instance, changing the points system for motoring offences could be done under an SI without taking up parliamentary time. This mechanism is often criticised because it bypasses debate in Parliamen...