I feel pulled by both sides of the issue of Assisted Dying. But the draft Bill has put legislation before careful public debate, not public debate before legislation. That is completely the wrong way round. 1/ A whole host of issues have not yet been adequately discussed. These include:
·      The Bill’s impact on the medical profession, and the relationship between medical staff and patients…
·      … and on the provision and regulation of the different drugs and drug cocktails 2/

This is a time for plain speaking. Labour's victory has been described as a "cosmetic landslide". But this allows a potentially fatal complacency. Whatever the specifics of turnout, volatility etc., no one should be in any doubt. The national mood was Anyone But the Tories.  1/ The scale of last Thursday's defeat now demands careful review by the Conservative Party. But, crucially, the many disastrous recent failures of policy and leadership themselves reflect assumptions which have long-term consequences. These too need to be exposed and understood.  2/

I have always liked Lindsay Hoyle, and he has been a welcome change from his predecessor. But last night was a disaster for the Speaker, and we need to be clear about what happened and why. The Speaker:
-- set aside established precedent on a very controversial issue... 1/ -- ... and ignored advice from the Clerk, to the extent that the Clerk felt obliged to write a letter
-- the Speaker framed the vote in a way that clearly favoured one party, Labour, at the expense of another, the SNP... 2/

I don’t know the Treasury’s mind regarding a windfall tax on the oil and gas sector. Few would embrace the idea with enthusiasm in normal times. But these are extraordinary times, and the arguments against it at present are very weak. 1/ There are several precedents. One is the Bank Levy, introduced under George Osborne in the wake of the 2008 financial crash — but when the public finances were in much better shape than they are now. 2/

A quick twitter thread and mythbuster to remind everyone of the facts about the 2008 financial crisis, its causes and its effects #GE2019 1/ In 2010 Labour left office with a letter from Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury (i.e. the cabinet member in charge of overseeing public spending) saying “I'm afraid there is no money.” 2/

My 33-tweet tantric Twitter thread of last week evidently dazed and confused a few folks online 😀 But then part of its point was to stress the need to make arguments and offer reasons, not simply slogans. This thread will be shorter 1/ I have decided against standing for the Tory leadership. But consulting widely on whether to throw my Stetson in the ring has been fascinating. I had some unexpected and wonderful public endorsements, including from @nytdavidbrooks and @RorySutherland, legends both. 2/

We should be ambitious not for ourselves, but for our country: for the future of this extraordinary, warm, funny, tolerant, open, traditional, kind, inclusive, mad, conflicted, joyous United Kingdom of ours, from Lands End to John O’Groats, Enniskillen to the Wash. 28/ If you believe in this idea of conservatism; if you want new faces at the table; if you share these ambitions; if you agree about the central importance, now more than ever, of history and philosophy and substantive debate in politics; then please say so. 29/

In recent days I’ve been asked a lot if I would stand for Leader of the Conservative Party. It’s already a crowded field, and my reply has been that the views of my constituents, party members and colleagues should shape that decision, and I will carefully consult among them. 1/ As a campaigner, over the past fifteen years and more, through books and articles, in interviews and speeches, as candidate, MP, Select Committee Chairman and Minister, I have tried to make the case from first principles for a proper, classic conservatism of public service. 2/

A thread on the constitutional and political implications of recent events 0/ One of the striking things about Brexit has been that so far it has been debated, however rancorously, through the medium of normal politics. Yes, the EU referendum in 2016 was unusual, but it was hardly a constitutional innovation. 1/