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Month: November 2010

Is Iain Dale right to support Phil Woolas?

Is Iain Dale right to support Phil Woolas?

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Iain Dale has announced on his blog that he’s given £100 to the Phil Woolas defence fund because he believes that voters, not judges should decide elections. But what does he think of this from a court ruling in 1911 and which featured in the Woolas judgement. “The primary protection of this statute was the protection of the constituency against acts which would be fatal to freedom of election. There would be no true freedom of election, no real expression…

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Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

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Is this what the NUS president was hinting at? There’s been a lot of speculation that the NUS might be planning to run a candidate in the Oldham East & Saddleworth by election following strong hints by the president, Aaron Porter, in an interview on The Politics Show yesterday afternoon But surely the idea of a separate NUS challenge is a nonsense because the last thing that Porter, an aspiring career Labour politician, would want is to take any action…

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Angry politics, how should Labour react?

Angry politics, how should Labour react?

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by Jonathan with his Second Sunday Slot As the shockwaves of the credit crunch reverberate around the world, anger dominates the political agenda. Faced with public outrage, what should a politician do? Should they fight it, ignore it or try to re-direct that energy into the ballot box? The Tea Party proved that angry politics can work. The Republicans successfully harnessed anger over the economy to win control of the House. It was a remarkable turnaround considering the extent of…

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MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

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MPs regional breakdown Aye votes No votes Abstentions Total England 311 209 8 528 Northern Ireland 0 12 6 18 Scotland 6 51 2 59 Wales 8 32 0 40 ALL MPs 325 304 16 645 A guest slot on the big vote and the West Lothian Question Linlithgow and East Falkirk includes much of the late, lamented constituency of West Lothian. Last week its Labour MP, Michael Connarty, was one of 51 Scottish representatives to vote against Higher Education…

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Why’s Dave’s “contract” being honoured but not Nick’s pledge?

Why’s Dave’s “contract” being honoured but not Nick’s pledge?

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Could the differing treatment be what undermines the pact? In the run up to polling day on May 6th the Tories sent out a mailer to selected voters in key marginal seats headed “A contract between the Conservative Party and You”. It was designed to ease voters’ concerns about certain key areas of spending that the red team said were being cut. Most of the items listed were directed at pensioners – keeping free bus basses, the winter fuel allowance,…

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Should Labour risk a local OES candidate or not??

Should Labour risk a local OES candidate or not??

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What would being a by-election loser do to her career? One person who is being strongly tipped to be Labour’s candidate in Oldham East and Saddleworth is 36 year old Lucy Powell of whom great things were being said before the May 6th general election. She’s not a local but from South Manchester and was candidate in Manchester Withington – a seat which Labour felt pretty confident of taking back after the shock loss to the Lib Dems in 2005….

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What if it’s a joyless recovery?

What if it’s a joyless recovery?

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What will the impact of the next economic storms be? The coming and going of the G20 this week without any meaningful progress on currencies, trade imbalances or indeed anything much else is hardly a surprise. The immediate global crises of the credit crunch and recession are over and there are too many conflicting interests to get a serious deal done in a couple of days, even with preparation beforehand. That’s a missed opportunity because this week’s seen some strong…

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If you’ve got an hour then you must listen to this

If you’ve got an hour then you must listen to this

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Does this add to our understanding of today? I’ve just finished listening to Matthew Solon’s radio play which seeks to tell the story of the five days after the general election which led to the formation of the coalition. It’s based on interviews with those who were directly involved and on published material with actors playing the key characters. I think it works brilliantly and what we hear is a compelling account of what went on. It certainly added to…

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