1) Guido Fawkes
Since 2004, the Guido Fawkes blog has been one of the most feared in Westminster. Set up and co-edited by Paul Staines, Guido looks at uncovering the sleaze and skulduggery that lurks in parliament. One scandal which Guido was responsible for reporting on was the infamous John Prescott affair, which nearly led Mr Prescott to resign as Deputy PM. Over the years, Guido has branched out from just Westminster politics and now covers technology, European/Brexit news as well as what’s happening in the media. This brought the blog to a broader audience as back in 2015 they set up a petition to 'Bring Back Jeremy Clarkson' after the BBC presenter was suspended for a fracas. It gained over 1 million signatures, but more importantly it’s one of the many reasons as to why Guido has a yearly traffic of just over 50 million visitors.
2) PoliticalBetting.com
It’s not a blog that you might expect to see on the list. However, it’s one of the most popular. It was set-up by ex-Lib Dem politician and journalist Mike Smithson who gives an insight into the world of politics with informal blogs as well as stats and betting odds. What comes across as a very flat and mundane looking site is actually revered by not just the Westminster huddle but also journalists and other fellow political betters such as Matthew Shaddick at Ladbrokes Politics.
3) The SKWAWKBOX
It is seen to be the left wing alternative to Guido’s blog, with the slogan ‘smeared, feared and followed by the establishment’. Its role is to attack and scrutinise the establishment, whether it’s Conservative MP’s or the BBC it posts articles undermining them and trying to expose hidden details. One of the blogs biggest stories was how a lady from Staffordshire switched from being a lifelong Tory voter to backing Corbyn. It resulted in her talking about the fact she now is a proud member of the Labour party, who has also joined Momentum. The SKWAWKBOX looks to promote the left but at the same time aims to rip into those in power and expose what they deem to be the truth.
4) ConHome Blog
Conservative Home blog has become the flagship site for the Conservative party, with notable ex-MPs contributing to the site such as Paul Goodman who edited the blog back in 2009. Tim Montgomerie created the blog back in 2005 after spending time working for the leader of the Conservative party Ian Duncan-Smith. One of its core aims has been to support the grassroots section of the party, while at the same time trying to be independent of it. The site, which according to its data takes in 2 million unique visitors a year, has now set-up its fortnightly podcast with Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg called ‘The Moggcast’. It is also one of the first political blogs to set up a podcast, proving that it is trying to compete with the Times, Guardian and even Private Eye.
5) LabourList
Derek Draper set up the blog to be just like Conservative Home. He wanted it to be both supportive of the party but at the same time independent from it. It has also hosted a wide selection of ministerial bloggers from the Labour party such as David and Ed Miliband, Peter Mandelson and Douglas Alexander. Despite being a blog, it has been praised for its coverage of incidents within the party such as the coup against Gordon Brown staying on as the leader. Furthermore, it has been commended for understanding the party mood as well as supporting its future members, who have been seen as active bloggers on the site.
Here is a podcast I created with political betting expert and head of politics at Ladbrokes Matthew Shaddick. We chat about some of the best political blogs in the UK.
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AuthorEdward Jeffery Archives
April 2019
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