Could democracy itself be a casualty of the economic crisis?

Could democracy itself be a casualty of the economic crisis?

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How much will electorates take from their representatives? It’s easy to think of democracy as the natural political system for the majority of the world. It’s widely aspired to in those countries that don’t have it and even dictatorships usually feel the need to legitimise their rule through some form of elections, no matter how fraudulent they may be in reality. History tells us however that the route to democracy is not a one-way street. Of the 27 current members…

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Is it wise to bring Laws back so early?

Is it wise to bring Laws back so early?

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The Sun Surely they should have waited a year? There was a time when stories in the Sun like this one about David Laws were treated like official announcements. For long periods, particularly during the Blair years, the paper got scoop after scoop about the government’s intentions which turned out to be on the money. So what are we to make of today’s story that David Laws is about to make a return? Is it just standard Westminster village speculation…

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Has the Mirror got a point?

Has the Mirror got a point?

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Should all three be on hols at the same time? It’s almost an August banker – at some stage during the month every year there’ll be a front page like today’s Mirror about leading political figures being on their holidays while a crisis beckons. But with scare headlines running across almost all today’s papers shouldn’t at least one of the top team always be on hand? Surely they could have planned it that way? Share collapses like we’ve seen can…

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Will Michelle Bachmann top the Ames Straw Poll?

Will Michelle Bachmann top the Ames Straw Poll?

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Is this a “Must Win” for the GOP’s third favourite? A week on Saturday at a university campus at Ames in Iowa what’s generally regarded as the first serious test of opinion about who should be the Republican party nominee takes place. The Ames Straw poll can be a hugely influential and in 1999 attracted more that 23,000 participants. There’s a whole series of things from barbecues to concerts going on during day finishing off with a vote amongst participants…

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Are the Welsh having problems cutting a quarter of their seats?

Are the Welsh having problems cutting a quarter of their seats?

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Welsh boundary review proposals delayed until next year The part of the UK that is most affected by the seat equalisation and reduction plan is Wales where the boundary commissioners are charged with reducing the number of constituencies from the current 40 to 30. This is a cutback of a quarter. The national reduction is from 650 seats to 600. According to the initial time-table plans for the new Welsh electoral map was due out in the first week in…

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Which party supporters are most right about the next election?

Which party supporters are most right about the next election?

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For yesterday’s News International/YouGov daily poll those sampled were asked what they thought would happen at the next general election. Charts showing the responses of Labour/Tory/LDs are featured above. Interestingly exactly the same proportion of Tory and Labour voters, 77%, think that their party will win most seats. The yellows, meanwhile, are more divided but give it to the blues by 50 – 32 Which group has got this most right? @MikeSmithsonPB

Hacking moves into a new phase

Hacking moves into a new phase

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Reuters Will Heather Mills put the spotlight on the Mirror? The big development in the hacking scandal this evening has been an interview that Heather Mills gave to the BBC in which she alleges that the Daily Mirror hacked her phone. The full interview is due to be screened by Newsnight. If its becomes established that this wasn’t just News International papers, as seems likely, then it will take a bit of pressure off the Murdoch team. @MikeSmithsonPB

Are last time’s losers always doomed to fail?

Are last time’s losers always doomed to fail?

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Politico Will GOP voters view Romney any differently in 2012? The influential US site, Politicos, has an article up under the provocative title “Why Romney can’t win” in which the authors look at the fate of previous losers in White House races when they’ve sought to run four years later. Paul Goldman & Mark Rozel recently set out what they described as their first law of presidential motion which applies to Sarah Palin: “Losing vice presidential nominees never win the…

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