Monday
You would have thought that after 35 years of writing for the Guardian I would have mastered some of the basics of holiday protocol by now. Apparently not. While I had remembered to let the newsdesk know I wouldn’t be writing the political sketch for two weeks, it had completely slipped my mind to inform the Saturday editor. So rather than leave her with the headache of an empty page, you’re getting an extra dose of me this week. And, in truth, I don’t mind because, for what is a usually empty August, there’s an awful lot still going on. I’ve even told the newsdesk that I’d like to write next Friday as I can’t pass up the moment Nigel Farage celebrates his byelection victory against the “establishment”, AKA a comedian with a dustbin on his head. This summer has been quite the reckoning for Reform. First some excellent investigative reporting from the Guardian and the Sunday Times, followed by even some of the party’s most loyal followers in the Spectator and the Telegraph beginning to turn. We will know the game is up when GB News begins to have doubts about Nige. It can only be a matter of time.
