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July 2026

Plane and simple education
Now that I’m more or less done with defence for a while, I’m turning my eye to education for a new policy on the Manifesto Project site.
 • Pete North
Can Reform withstand the Burnham bounce?
A couple of polls today point to a recovery for Labour.
 • Pete North
The Tories are still unserious
According to the Telegraph, Wes Streeting has promised to resign as Defence Secretary if Andy Burnham fails to plug a black hole in Britain’s planned…
 • Pete North
Why the right fails: conservatism is not libertarianism
To understand a person, Napoleon Bonaparte famously noted that you must look at what was happening in the world when he was twenty years old.
 • Pete North
Hope Not Hate is a terrorist organisation
I struggle to comprehend the level of hate it would take to batter an old lady to death with a hammer.
 • Pete North
Burnham: the man without a plan
I’m glad Andy Burnham is the new prime minister.
 • Pete North
Britain is sleepwalking into someone else's war
From day one I’ve been sceptical about supporting Ukraine.
 • Pete North
Defence: the business of politics
In producing my defence policy for Manifesto Project, one thing I tried desperately hard not to do was to fall down a defence punditry rabbit hole.
 • Pete North
Defence: Bigger problems than new toys
Defence is shaping up to be one of the longest and most comprehensive policies on the Manifesto Project website.
 • Pete North
Britain's defence investment plan is not fit for purpose
I think I'm going to be hung up on the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) for a while.
 • Pete North
What is the MoD smoking?
Now that I’ve updated the Manifesto Project as far as I’m going to in this round of upgrades, now comes the hard part.
 • Pete North
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