Hitting rock bottom The Conservative party is the oldest and most successful party in UK history. The 2024 election was the worst ever in its long history (the previous worst in 1906, they still held on to 156 seats) In theory, the Conservatives are still well placed as there are 227 seats, where the required swing is less than 10%. However, it’s not proving remotely easy so far. With Labour seeing their popularity dwindle, the Conservatives ought to be the…
This is the penultimate in a series looking at the 7 main Great Britain parties. The main focus will be on the Green Party of England and Wales, but we’ll also look at the separate Scottish Greens. Let me start with a question. Since 2010, the Green Party of England and Wales has had 7 leaders or co-leaders, how many can you name? Vote share The main challenge for the Green Party in England and Wales is simple: national vote…
In two significant ways, Reform UK supporters, and that subset which knows how to hold a writing implement and thus become Reform UK voters, are like senior military officers. First, they only want to hear things that they already know to be true. Second, they assume that anything they don’t personally understand must be simple. Immigration, and particularly informal migration via channel crossings in small boats, has been successfully weaponised to such a degree that it is now perceived as…
Later tonight the studio lights at the Antenna Media Centre in Nottingham will be switched off. They will not be turned on again. Today marks the last day of broadcasting by Notts TV, part of a pioneering experiment in hyper-local TV services first launched by Jeremy Hunt under the Coalition government. The channel, which broadcasts a small number of hours of local news, sport, culture and current affairs debates per week, is available on Freeview channel 7 (the old BBC…
We have a new set of proposals for changes to UK motoring law in the press yesterday, prominently around eyesight for the elderly, and a slightly lower drink driving limit. It is actually more comprehensive than that, and is being framed by the Government as a “Road Safety Strategy”. This piece is some initial reflections – a “quick take”, so not as heavily referenced as I would like. The Starmer Government have been talking about different issues in a piecemeal…
This is the 5th in a series looking at the challenges and opportunities for the 7 main Great Britain parties. Today we will look at the Scottish National Party. Feast or famine Unlike Plaid Cymru, the SNP have a more consistent level of support across Scotland. In 2025, this ranged from 17% in Edinburgh South to 40% in Angus and Perthshire Glens. This means the SNP are often in a feast or famine situation. 30% of the vote in 2024…
This is the midpoint in a series looking at the challenges and opportunities for the 7 main Great Britain parties. Today we will look at the Liberal Democrats and see if they can continue their recent triumphs. Understanding the LD’s success 2024 was the most successful election to date for the LDs in terms of seats won and their ratio of seats to votes was twice as high as their previous best of 2005. Election % of Votes won %…
Gareth’s excellent recent PB header “The Challenge for … Reform” suggested that running local councils could give the party valuable executive experience. But does this influx of Reform Councillors actually bring “outsiders” into the system? Or does it just offer “insiders” a new ladder to climb? Meet Stephen Atkinson, newly elected leader of Lancashire County Council. First time elected this year as a Reform councillor, with a career background of having been *checks notes* Council Leader of Ribble Valley Council for the…