• Conservative candidate arrested in election fraud investigation

    Updated: 2010-05-31 18:08:13
    The Express & Star reports: A Tory election candidate has been arrested on suspicion of postal vote fraud in the first West Midlands Police operation of its kind linked to the 2010 polls. Gulfam Wali was held by detectives probing claims that postal votes in the Walsall ward where he stood for election were inappropriately used. The 32-year-old, of Neale Street, Birchills, Walsall, who failed to get elected in Pleck ward, was arrested by detectives from West Midlands Police's specialist economic crime team. He was held on suspicion of personation, which is an allegation that votes have been cast in ...

  • The LDV Bank Holiday caption competition: Lib Dem deputy leadership "Simon Hughes mucks in" edition

    Updated: 2010-05-31 17:45:17
    There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader ... (Image: via Flickr). Here's contender for the Lib Dem deputy leadership Simon Hughes hard at work, gardening for Springwatch in London. What do you reckon he might be thinking? The winner of our most recent caption competition, the rather belated "Clegg & Cameron love-in" edition - according to The Voice's judging panel of one - was this one by Alison, with a special commendation for this one by Phil Rodgers.

  • Lib Dems in Govt: Actions, Not Words, needed on Gaza

    Updated: 2010-05-31 17:28:00
    Nick Clegg, The Guardian, Tuesday 22 December 2009: And what has the British government and the international community done to lift the blockade? Next to nothing. Tough-sounding declarations are issued at regular intervals but little real pressure is applied. It is a scandal that the international community has sat on its hands in the face of this unfolding crisis. No doubt the febrile sensitivities of the Middle East have deterred governments, caught between recriminations from both sides. No doubt diplomats have warned that exerting pressure on Israel and Egypt may complicate the peace process. But surely the consequences of not ...

  • The coalition agreement: international development

    Updated: 2010-05-31 15:20:25
    Welcome to the twelfth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. International development has been one of the totemic policy areas which David Cameron chose to show how he was changing the party. As a result, just as a promise to increase spending on the NHS was used to argue that the party was changing in its attitude to public services, so too a commitment to increase spending on international aid was used to argue that the party was leaving behind its 'nasty party' roots. ...

  • The new Right-Left Alliance

    Updated: 2010-05-31 13:59:12
    The last few days have been odd. We've had those on the right, represented by the Telegraph, unleashing crude but effective attacks on the Lib Dems. People who think like the Barclay brothers, owners of the Telegraph, those who are ... Continue reading →

  • Nick Clegg should speak out NOW!

    Updated: 2010-05-31 13:56:00
    The deadly attack by Israeli Naval forces on the Gaza Aid ships in international waters is outrageous. For many people, this issue will be a test both of Mr Clegg's political integrity given his article from the Guardian last year: Mr Clegg should now put the whole weight of his Office as Deputy Prime Minister behind a clear and unequivocal condemnation of Israel's volation of international law.

  • Critique of The Spirit Level

    Updated: 2010-05-31 10:22:00
    I haven't read The Spirit Level or its riposte, The Spirit Level Delusion so cannot say how good the quality of the arguments are of either book. Here, Rob Fisher, provides a very detailed review of the latter.

  • The coalition agreement: government transparency and immigration

    Updated: 2010-05-31 10:20:51
    Welcome to the eleventh in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. Unlike the nearly all of the rest of the document, both of these sections lift very heavily from Conservative Party policy, with little of the Liberal Democrat manifesto featuring. However, whilst in the immigration section that means policies which will leave many Liberal Democrats uncomfortable, in the government transparency section this is good news – for truth be told, the Conservative manifesto was rather better than the Liberal Democrat manifesto in this regard. Our ...

  • STV and gender balance: if it's good enough for MPs...

    Updated: 2010-05-31 09:20:03
    Last week I pointed out that AV is being used for both the Labour leadership contest and for the election of select committee chairs in the Commons, which could make for the fun sight of Labour MPs who have happily used it in both those contests then turning round and explaining how they think it's really a terrible system for the public to use. What I missed then (but now realise) is that the election for the Commons Deputy Speakers will also see two features in use because MPs have adopted them but which I suspect a fair few MPs ...

  • Capital Gains Tax: an outrageous list of advice

    Updated: 2010-05-31 00:29:37
    In a shocking list of advice being given out about capital gains tax, MPs were told: "Don't forget to claim expenses" "Become a butterfly and flit between homes" "Exploit personal allowances and minimise rates" and more. The advice urges people to make use of "a range of little-known tax breaks" and quotes a tax advisor saying, "It is possible to reduce a tax bill of a few hundred thousand pounds to virtually zero". Oh wait. Hang on. That's a list of advice that was written for the public and not just MPs, wasn't it? And the list was written by ...

  • Oona King to run as Labour candidate for mayoral election

    Updated: 2010-05-27 17:03:30
    Once one of "Blair's Babes", former Labour MP Oona King has thrown down the gauntlet to former Mayor Ken Livingstone with the announcement of her official bid to become Labour's candidate to run for London mayor in 2010.

  • Reality intrudes on new British political order

    Updated: 2010-05-25 17:03:47
    Britain's new political order was on display in the House of Commons on Tuesday when Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg squeezed happily between Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague on the government front bench.

  • George Osborne takes risk with rhetoric

    Updated: 2010-05-17 16:43:43
    George Osborne once said he spends more time thinking about politics than he does about economics. Now that he's Chancellor of the Exchequer, he probably needs to think about the latter a bit more.

  • New politics? Looks like more of the same to me

    Updated: 2010-05-13 11:10:14
    Tackling our debt mountain has got to be the new government's first and top priority, but unless something urgent is done to improve diversity in senior political jobs -- as is slowly being done in business -- then all the talk of new politics will end up being nothing but wrapping for old government.

  • Labour Party Leadership Election 2010

    Updated: 2010-05-13 03:51:07
    With the resignation of Gordon Brown as both Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader just days after the 2010 election we’ll be seeing the Labour Party Leadership election campaign over the coming months most likely ending during the Labour Party Conference in September 2010. If the Labour Party wanted a faster leadership contest it would apparently [...]

  • Election 2010 William Hague First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    Updated: 2010-05-12 22:56:31
    William Hague is the new First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in David Cameron’s Conservative and Liberal Democrats coalition government. William Hague has been the Member of Parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire since 1989 and replaces Lord Mandelson as First Secretary of State and David Miliband as Secretary of State [...]

  • Election 2010 Liam Fox Secretary of State for Defence

    Updated: 2010-05-12 22:45:16
    Liam Fox is the new Secretary of State for Defence in David Cameron’s Conservative and Liberal Democrats coalition government. Liam Fox has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Woodspring since 1992 and replaces Bob Ainsworth as Secretary of State for Defence. Liam Fox was a GP in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Somerset before his election to parliament, I [...]

  • Election 2010 Chris Huhne Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

    Updated: 2010-05-12 22:35:36
    Chris Huhne is the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in David Cameron’s Conservative and Liberal Democrats coalition government. Chris Huhne has been the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh since 2005 and replaces Ed Miliband as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Chris Huhne has a first class degree in [...]

  • Coalition Government Cancel London’s Heathrow Airport Third Runway

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:20:10
    From the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government Agreement under the Environment Section: -The cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow. -The refusal of additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted. -The replacement of the Air Passenger Duty with a per flight duty. With the cancellation of the controversial third runway and London’s Heathrow airport and a declaration on no [...]

  • Election 2010 David Cameron and Nick Clegg Prime Ministers Press Conference

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:20:09
    The sun was shining and the song birds where singing in the rose garden of number 10 Downing Street when the newly weds David Cameron and Nick Clegg made their first Prime Ministerial press conference. David Cameron took the lead on the majority of questions with both Nick Clegg and Cameron falling over themselves in [...]

  • Election 2010 Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government Agreement

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:20:09
    Also see the Full Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government Agreement published 20th May 2010. Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiations Agreements reached 11 May 2010 This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us [...]

  • Election 2010 Michael Gove Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:20:08
    Michael Gove is the new Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in the new Conservative and Liberal Democrats coalition government. Michael Gove has been the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath since 2005 and replaces Ed Balls as Schools Secretary. Michael Gove reportedly claimed £7,000 for furnishing a London property before ‘flipping’ his designated second [...]

  • Election 2010 Theresa May Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality

    Updated: 2010-05-12 18:20:07
    Theresa May is the new Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality in David Cameron’s new Conservative and Liberal Democrats coalition government. Theresa May has been the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead since 1997 and replaces Labour’s Alan Johnson as Home Secretary. Theresa May studied at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, obtaining a BA in Geography in [...]

  • Preferential Voting in Australia

    Updated: 2010-05-12 04:56:37
    At the request of political science colleagues, I have updated an article I wrote for the ABC's 2004 federal election site that dealt with the history of preferential voting in Australia. In the article I tabulated how preferences have changed...

  • Who Will You Vote For In The 2010 General Election Poll

    Updated: 2010-05-07 18:04:38
    The Labour Party won the 2005 UK general election with 35.3% of the popular British vote. The Conservative Party was just a few points behind with 32.3% of the votes, but because of the first past the post voting system, the Labour Party had a significant majority with 356 parliamentary seats (MPs) compared to 198 [...]

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