Another day, another story about how Nick Clegg is going to lose his seat. Yesterday’s was courtesy of a Unite funded poll that said Labour were going to win Sheffield Hallam by 10 clear points. Whatever the faults you can talk about in regards to Survation’s methodology (this has been brilliantly covered on the UK […]
The great irony of this parliament may turn out to be that the Tories would be on course for victory under AV
I don’t mean to drudge up the good ol’ Alternative Vote anew, but let’s think back a bit to early 2011. AV, although it seems amazing to think of it now, was ahead in the polls against the retain First Past the Post bunch. The Conservative Party was at a cross roads: should it let […]
Will the Lib Dems really get 48 seats?
Professor Paul Whiteley at the University of Essex has made a bold prediction regarding the outcome of the general election: he’s said that Labour will be the biggest party in a hung parliament (so far, not that out of the norm), and that the Lib Dems will again hold the balance of power – this […]
Could the unions in Scotland turn on Labour and support the SNP?
Everyone knows by now the existential trouble the Labour Party faces in Scotland, post indy referendum. Different estimates give the SNP a dozen, two dozen, fifty, every seat in Scotland – take your pick. The counter-narrative runs thus: they’ve got a solid chap in Jim Murphy running the show up there now, and besides, we’ve […]
As the election campaign begins, so the press goes more to the right – and more to the left
As a politico I enjoy reading both the Guardian Politics page as well as the Telegraph’s version of the same. As you would expect, you get a very different take on the political events of the day on each, one of the reasons I read both. However, I’ve found the pair a little hard to […]
Grant Shapps rules out a coalition with UKIP – this should be the most no brainer thing the Conservatives promise this election campaign
Shapps is keeping steady guard of the Tory fortress – although it may not look it at first glance. Last week the Conservative Party chairman seemed to claim that Cameron wanted to do the TV debates – come on the lot of you, let’s see what you’re made of. All right, I’m exaggerating slightly, but […]
Miliband’s plea to the press for “issues not cynicism” was fairly cynical
At a dinner for political journalists on Thursday night, Ed got up and made a speech about cynicism within the political press and how awful it all is. “One of the biggest enemies of politics is cynicism, the belief that we are all in it for base motives. Agree with us or disagree with us, […]
Is the Daily Mail correct in asserting that Tim Farron is “unstoppable” in his bid to be next leader of the Liberal Democrats?
I should begin this piece by saying that if you are looking for reliable information on what’s going inside of the Lib Dems, the Daily Mail is not the best place to initiate your search. However, yesterday there was an article in said publication that declared the next leadership contest within the party done and […]
Could a grand coalition emerge under the following circumstances?
I wrote an article about a Tory-Labour coalition after the next election a little while back. Most of it was a bit tongue in cheek, well aware as I am of the things repelling both of the two main parties from such a possibility. However, there is one set of circumstances under which I could […]
The general election as seen through the prism of the original “Star Wars” trilogy
Given that watching the first Star Wars movie in the cinema when I was a wee lad had a defining influence on all of my future thought, it’s probably not all that surprising that I have the ability to see almost anything through the lens of George Lucas’ most prosperous creation. Take British politics: […]