Electoral pacts: the siren voice of destruction for Labour

Electoral pacts: the siren voice of destruction for Labour

Q Nothing else would so effectively combine surrender with contempt for the electorate Parties that do badly at elections should always reflect on why that was the case. It’s not an easy question to ask because almost certainly there’ll be tough answers, if the question’s answered honestly. In all probability, those answers will include ‘our campaign was ineffective’, ‘the public did not support our policies’, ‘we did not look credible as a government / force of opposition’, ‘our record in…

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Time to face facts: The ‘War on Terror’ is here to stay and we need to take it seriously

Time to face facts: The ‘War on Terror’ is here to stay and we need to take it seriously

Paris is in lockdown: museums, schools, Eiffel Tower closed. More on our live blog: https://t.co/VeAl0Lkz9Z pic.twitter.com/QsZYotOa8q — Financial Times (@FT) November 14, 2015 Friday’s attacks on Paris show that the terror threat remains. It’s time to fight back with every means at our disposal and take the fight to ISIS writes Keiran Pedley. But do we have the stomach for it? I thought quite hard before writing this piece. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was too soon. To…

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Confidence, resilience, determination: the necessary response to the Paris attacks

Confidence, resilience, determination: the necessary response to the Paris attacks

37 It is time to reaffirm and protect Europe’s values The first duty of the state is to protect its citizens. In that duty, France failed yesterday, as all states do from time to time because that duty can never be held to be absolute. It is impossible to protect against every threat every time, and any attempt to do so would impinge so heavily on other rights and values that it would in itself be an attack on the…

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Paris is just a 2 hour train ride from the centre of London

Paris is just a 2 hour train ride from the centre of London

For those who no longer wish to travel on 14/11 please call us for a free exchange we're open 9am-5pm (GMT) over the weekend 03432 186186. — Eurostar (@Eurostar) November 14, 2015 Update – AP: Head of Paris police says all attackers are believed to be dead — Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) November 14, 2015 The Paris attack in photos https://t.co/hieV5M2bi5 pic.twitter.com/VWKaxQw6PG — Financial Times (@FT) November 14, 2015 Paris attacks leave France in trauma, fearing for the future •…

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Our thoughts tonight are simply with the people of Paris

Our thoughts tonight are simply with the people of Paris

Update – French media says at least 40 people are dead after a series of violent incidents in and around Paris — Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) November 13, 2015 Tomorrow's front page: Carnage in Paris pic.twitter.com/R7QXz4h8f5 — The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 13, 2015 Can we all put politics aside for one night? I have strong views on this – very strong – but now is not the time #solidaritywithparis — Keiran Pedley (@keiranpedley) November 13, 2015…

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This week’s PB/Polling Matters Podcast explores what it’s like being a losing candidate

This week’s PB/Polling Matters Podcast explores what it’s like being a losing candidate

Getting there but not quite On this week’s edition of the PB / Polling Matters podcast we explore what it’s like running for parliament. Keiran speaks to two unsuccessful candidates from 2015 and asks about their experiences, the pressures they faced and why they thought Labour lost. About this week’s guests: Russell Whiting stood in Suffolk Coastal and works as a political advisor for an NGO. You can follow Russell on twitter at @Russell_Whiting James Frith stood in Bury North…

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Donald Brind wonders whether Mr. Corbyn really wants to be PM

Donald Brind wonders whether Mr. Corbyn really wants to be PM

An opposition leader’s primary objective should be Number 10 I was rather excited by the recent launch of BBC Store which opens up, for sale and download, a treasure trove programmes dating back to the fifties. My first foray was, however, unsuccessful. I got the message  “Unfortunately, your search didn’t return any results. The title may not be on BBC Store yet. However, we are adding more programmes every day, so please check back soon.” I certainly will. What I was…

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REMAIN drops 2 in new Survation poll for UKIP donor Aaron Banks Leave.EU

REMAIN drops 2 in new Survation poll for UKIP donor Aaron Banks Leave.EU

The first referendum poll since Cameron’s EU letter REMAIN 38%-2 LEAVE 43% nc DK 19% +2 For the first time in two months there’s an EU referendum poll which has OUT in the lead. It was carried out by Survation for the Aaron Banks Leave.EU organisation which is bidding to be the officially recognised referendum campaign against staying in the EU. Fieldwork for the poll was carried out after David Cameron’s formal move earlier in the week setting out parameters…

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