Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, Managing Director of Biteback Publishing, a columnist and broadcaster and a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate.
Since this will be my last column of 2015, I thought I would look back and hand out a few End of Year Awards…and brickbats.
Anyone who claims that politics is boring needs only to look back at the events of 2015 and look forward to next year. What a fascinating time it is to be commenting on current affairs. We have so much to look forward to in 2016: a probable EU referendum, the London mayoral election, the onward march of the SNP, more fun and frolics in the Labour Party, Conservative leadership hopefuls stepping up the battle, and lots more besides. Anyway, here we go…
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I don’t envy David Cameron in his task at the EU Summit. I had thought the so-called demands in his letter to Donald Tusk were a put-up job, and that everything had been agreed in advance. The four demands were so weak that I assumed the EU leaders had decided they would allow Cameron to claim a victory.
I was wrong. As I write this column, it looks as if the Prime Minister will return more or less empty-handed, with everything being postponed until February.
Cameron’s problem is that no one can really imagine him delivering on his threat to support a Leave vote in a referendum if he doesn’t get his way on the renegotiation. Most EU negotiations involve games of bluff and double bluff. My fear is that the EU has already called the Prime Minister’s bluff, and his war-gaming has been insufficiently robust. I hope I am wrong.
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So far this year I’ve had five Christmas cards with totally illegible signatures – three of them from MPs. I mean, what’s the point? Yesterday, I received a lovely case containing three bottles of vintage wine. I have no clue who it’s from. No note. So someone out there is going to think me very rude for not thanking them. Christmas, eh?
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Thanks for reading this column during 2015. I’ll be back in 2016 – but, in the meantime, may I wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year.