Naomi Smith
CEO @bestforbritain, co-host @ohgodwhatnowpod, X-party activist, internationalist, xenophile, recovering accountant.
Latest content from Naomi
Bringing Europe back to Lib Dem Conference
All called upon the current leadership to be bolder in their defence of shared values with Europe. Our audience applauded the video, some shed a tear, and many questioned why a speech like that made by Charles Kennedy wasn’t being made on the main stage at this conferenceWhen it comes to opportunities for young Brits, England is 3-0 down to the Aussies
No matter what happens on Sunday, let’s enjoy this victory because off the pitch our record against Australia is less impressive. In the ongoing contest of attracting and retaining the next generation of young workers, we’re in the middle of a 3-0 drubbing.For the EU it turns out no deal could be better than a bad deal
Hot on the heels of their agreement with the Kiwis, the long anticipated EU-Australia trade deal was due to be announced this week but reports suggest that agriculture is proving the stubborn, if expected, sticking point.F.P.W.P. - First past what post?
In the world of horses, first past the post (FPTP) means just that. Getting to within a furlong of the finish and then expiring counts for nowt, even if you were the last gelding standing. Politics, of course, purloined FPTP from the racing fraternity and applied it to the outdated electoral system which still blights general elections in Britain, among other places.State expectations: A warning about local elections for Labour supporters
If you’re looking for signs that our scandal-pocked Government has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana skin, you should be anticipating the Thursday’s English local elections with glee. But here’s why it won’t necessarily be a rip-roaring night for Labour.Our relationship with the US (and beyond) will reflect our relationship with the EU
What was the purpose of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic this week? To rational observers, Biden stopped in Belfast to celebrate the Good Friday Agreement, highlight the vital role of international cooperation in brokering the deal, and encourage Northern Ireland’s political leaders to return to power-sharing. The Windsor Framework, as Biden rightly pointed out, can be a continuation of this collaborative spirit.Let's Stop Talking About Gary Lineker And Look At The Illegal Migration Bill
Ask someone on the street about the biggest news story of the past week, and you’ll likely hear one name: Gary Lineker. The football legend’s suspension and now un-suspension from the BBC has dominated the airwaves and splashed tabloids and broadsheets alike. But if you asked the same person exactly what Lineker was objecting to in the tweet that sparked the controversy, you’d likely get a much larger range of answers–and probably some blank stares.Sunak’s weakness could allow hard Brexiters to strip away our human rights
Now under pressure from the ERG and DUP, Sunak could be tempted to follow through with his threat to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights Convention to provide a rare point of unity for his Vote Leave Government. Despite the Attorney General’s pledge to address small boats “within” the ECHR this week, Deputy PM Dominic Raab on the same day said that the Government would ‘not rule out’ this withdrawal. If they do, eight decades of international cooperation on safeguarding our liberties could be lost–and the Good Friday Agreement with them.For Labour, improving both public safety and our electoral system must go hand-in-hand
Last Thursday, Yvette Cooper said what anyone who’s paid attention in the past 13 years could tell you: the Tories have fallen down on the job of keeping the UK safe. The Shadow Home Secretary’s address to the Institute for Government pledged that Labour would hire 13, 000 new police officers, commit to rebuilding relationships between police forces and communities, put cops back on neighbourhood beats, and swiftly act on allegations of misconduct against officers.Gove is on manoeuvres and Sunak only has himself to blame
With the UK economy barely treading water and increasing global threats underscored by a fresh Russian offensive in Ukraine, Gove was sent as secret mediator from the Government. His mission; to do what neither Sunak nor Starmer can publically, to admit that Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster and that the time is long since past to begin to repair the damage.The Retained EU Law Bill: A 2024 Christmas catastrophe
It’s Christmas 2024. A new Government has entered office with a plan to clean up 14 years of Tory mess. But thanks to the Retained EU Law Bill which took effect at the end of 2023, the half-life of Tory destruction may stretch long into the future.Competence, what competence? Tory chancellors like Jeremy Hunt always spell disaster
Tory chancellors have held the purse strings for 30 of the past 43 years, and from Geoffrey Howe through Norman Lamont to Rishi Sunak, they have nearly all left the UK economy in a worse state than they found it.Are we heading for 1997 again? This time the legacy of a Labour win can be lasting
After nearly two decades of Conservative PMs in No 10, the election of a Labour government in 1997 felt like a new dawn for Britain. This moment can be even more transformative if the Labour leadership lets it. By committing to electoral reform–including proportional representation–in the Party’s manifesto, Keir Starmer can give the country its most consequential change to the political system in decades.