“Something big is happening here.” Those were the words of Nigel Farage following the news that Douglas Carswell had become UKIP’s first member of parliament by attracting 21,113 votes in the Clacton by-election…
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Articles on UK elections 2015
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The results of the by-elections that have just taken place in Clacton and Heywood and Middleton are virtually impossible to spin for either the Conservatives or Labour. Predictably, each side of Britain’s…
UKIP has a seat in the House of Commons, after Douglas Carswell, the former Conservative MP who defected to UKIP, won back his Clacton seat in an expected, but still convincing by-election victory for…
The case for lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK would appear to have been strengthened by the resonance of young people in the Scottish referendum. But excitement over this issue masks a deeper problem…
Nick Clegg faced a dual challenge in his closing address to the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow. He had to energise his own activists in preparation for a general election seven months away and…
How can it be that after plummeting to 6% in the polls, their lowest for two decades, the Liberal Democrats appeared to be in such good spirits at their autumn conference in Glasgow? You might even call…
After the 2010 UK election, some individuals urged Labour to try to form a rainbow-style coalition with the smaller parties in the House of Commons. According to the maths, several potential groupings…
The Conservative party is shortly to face a high-profile by-election this week in the wake of the defection of Clacton MP, Douglas Carswell. Senior figures in the party are understood to be deeply concerned…
In his speech at the Conservative party conference David Cameron claimed that a vote for UKIP is a vote for Labour, an argument likely to be heard with greater frequency as the general election approaches…
Now the Conservative Party’s 2014 conference is over, the rhetorical battle lines between David Cameron and Ed Miliband have been drawn more clearly than ever – and the prime minister’s turn in Birmingham…
Is it possible for the voting public to learn something about their leaders just from watching the body language they display when they speak in public? Given the number of obviously rehearsed gestures…
In recent days the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party seems to have renounced its suicidal tactics. It took three defections to UKIP – those of Eurosceptic agitators-in-chief in the Commons, Douglas…
In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, David Cameron promised to give voters “something for something”. And while he said he believed the savings that need to be made can be achieved through…
Generation Y, the youngest adult generation, have recently been called Dave’s No 1 Fans, Thatcher’s Children, The Boris Generation or just plain Generation Right. Much of this discussion draws on an analysis…
Boris Johnson’s speech is always the highlight of the Conservative party conference. The appearance of the mayor of London is an eagerly anticipated moment of light relief from the barrage of announcements…
Two topics now compete for the opening paragraph in MP Brooks Newmark’s political obituary. One is of course his hubris in thinking that a 26-year old woman – be she Tory or not – would be interested in…
Nigel Farage entered Doncaster racecourse to give the first of two speeches to the UKIP annual conference against a backdrop of Olympics-style inspirational house music. The soundtrack was appropriate…
UKIP is assembling at Doncaster Racecourse for its annual conference, riding high on some major victories over the past few months and preparing for a by-election that could well secure the party its first…
Ed Miliband is trying to wrestle back the political initiative in Manchester. The leader of the opposition must avoid becoming mired in deeply complex constitutional questions of devolution at his party’s…
Ed Balls has kicked off the annual Labour conference in Manchester with an ill-judged announcement that his party would increase child benefits by just 1% a year until 2017 if elected to government next…
Top contributors
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Paul Whiteley is a Friend of The Conversation.Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex
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Associate Professor of Politics, Richmond American International University
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Professor of Politics, University of Warwick
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Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester
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Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of Stirling
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Senior Lecturer in Politics, Lancaster University
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Honorary Senior Lecturer, Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham
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Professor of Digital Politics, University of Sheffield
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Senior Lecturer, Department of Government, University of Essex
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Professor Emeritus of Economics, SOAS, University of London
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School of History, Anthropology, Philosohy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast
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Professor of Electoral Geography, University of Sheffield
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Lecturer in Politics, University of Aberdeen
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Professor, School of Journalism, Media and Culture; University Dean of Research Environment and Culture, Cardiff University
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Lecturer in British Politics, University of Bristol
