Edwin Hayward
Commentator and author of Slaying Brexit Unicorns (Kindle/paperback).
Focus: Brexit, UK politics, fun geeky stuff. Also more about AI as the Singularity nears.
Expect facts, stats, sarcasm and gallows humour.
More about me:
edwinhayward.com
- There's endless free PR for the taking if you're a political party that wants to spread an unashamedly loud and proud pro-EU stance. Irritate the RW press, and they'll do all the advertising for you. Every time they scream betrayal, the people you want to reach think: "Brexit betrayal? Oh, good!"
- With the events of the last week, Labour have reached the "I wouldn't cross the street to throw a bucket of water on them if they were on fire" level. They now represent the enemy just as much as the Tories did. (The fact there's no obviously viable alternative to them doesn't change that.)
- Starmer doesn't care what happens in 2029. If he lasts that long, he'll have been Prime Minister 36x as long as Liz Truss. His place in history is assured. Once you realise that, everything else makes a bit more sense. Not a lot, but a bit.
- If Labour weren't such total cowards about Brexit, they could have diffused the row over immigration by pointing, again and again and again, at the graph that shows immigration skyrocketed immediately after the transition period ended. Make "Brexit = v high levels of immigration" in peoples' minds.
- An exodus of nurses? Great. Just what an NHS on its knees needs. Labour would manage to orchestrate a car crash in a parked car. There's no question in my mind any more that they'll be gone in 2029. And that makes the future very frightening indeed. news.sky.com/story/govern...
- Mad stuff from Nick Thomas-Symonds of Labour (Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations) contributing to today's Opposition day debate on the EU. Simultaneously repeating all the Brexit red lines AND promising huge things of "Make Brexit Work". hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
- The LibDem spokesperson on Europe used the Opposition debate today to explicitly rule out trying to rejoin the EU at the moment. Sigh. He also showed flashes of British exceptionalism. Double sigh. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
- Labour took it upon themselves to repeat their Brexit red lines at today's Opposition day. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
- I did warn you that the US trade deal was nothing of the sort*. Now we're starting to see confirmation from businesses. (*All it was is a framework of nominally agreed topics to build the negotiations around. But those negotiations still have to be completed successfully for the deal to happen.)
- Imagine if Labour had put even a fraction of the energy they've poured into demonising immigrants into calling out the damage of Brexit instead...
- 50% of Britons say that immigration is one of the top issues facing the country, the highest level since June 2016 Immigration: 50% (+2 from 3-5 May) Economy: 49% (-3) Health: 36% (=) Crime: 22% (=) Defence: 21% (+1) Housing: 18% (-2) Environment: 17% (+2) yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
