It is clear from the European and local election results that there are some interesting and fairly nuanced things happening. Labour has not done as well as it expected to do – and there are a lot of people…
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, appears to have stolen the show in the run up to the European elections. But while he has been pilloried in the papers, discussion about him on Twitter…
Two countries have synchronised their EU election and local election dates this cycle: Greece and parts of the UK (England and Northern Ireland). On May 25, Greeks vote in run-off elections in all their…
The ticking clocks and “year to go to the election” brain dumps have made the final lap of the coalition government hard to miss: there appears to be universal agreement the general election will be held…
Social work is at a crossroads. As the next election cycle begins, the country’s social workers are caught between two completely different visions of their profession. One is based on the ideal of a democratic…
Maria Miller has resigned as Culture secretary. Until today, she was one of the most powerful women in the Conservative Party; she has been described as “efficient and low-key”, and rapidly climbed the…
Addressing the Israeli Knesset recently, David Cameron proclaimed himself “a British prime minister whose belief in Israel is unbreakable, and whose commitment to Israel’s security will always be rock…
If Cameron is the heir to Blair, Osborne is the heir to Brown. His budgets have always been intensely political. The serious fiscal work now goes on in the spending review and the autumn statement. Budgets…
If a week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson famously claimed, then it would seem like a hopeless task to try to predict now what might happen at the general election of May 2015. But we know…
UKIP has helped to put religion higher up the political agenda than usual in recent weeks – but not for reasons that will have pleased the party leadership. The now former UKIP councillor David Silvester’s…
Nick Clegg “is for in”. In for Europe, in for the economic benefits, and in for better student access to European finances. His argument is that Britain being in Europe will help the UK economy prosper…
It is not very often that an education story is the lead item on the BBC’s Today programme, but the apparent sacking of Baroness Sally Morgan as chair of schools inspectorate Ofsted and comments by its…
Who lives at Number Ten Downing Street? The answer is of course… George Osborne. While his official residence may be next door at Number Eleven, it is he and not David Cameron who lives in the flat above…
The election to the EU Parliament in May looks likely to be nothing short of a car-crash for Britain’s main political parties. The most recent poll by YouGov suggests UKIP is well-placed to poll in second…
George Osborne’s announcement this week that a Conservative government would implement £25 billion of cuts over two years after the next election is a bold statement of intent both economically and politically…
After the controversies of the past few weeks, the coalition government has launched a review of trade union tactics, to be led by Bruce Carr QC. The issue of union activities and the relationship between…
The 1996 election campaign that brought Bill Clinton to the White House fundamentally changed the way campaigns are run in more ways than one. Clinton’s success owed much to the genius of James Carville…
“War – huh. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”, sang Edwin Starr back in the sixties. Most people say the same about party conferences. They take up half a week. They cost a fortune. They don’t actually…
This year’s Conservative Party conference has reminded us incessantly that George Osborne and his fellow ministers are “for hardworking people”. This same slogan has also become popular among Labour politicians…
As Conservatives head to Manchester for their annual party conference this weekend, it seems a very long time since David Cameron, then newly-elected party leader, urged the electorate to “Vote Blue, Go…