December 21, 2014
Hung parliaments: a note about numbers
I’ve mentioned before how Sinn Fein’s decision to abstain from participation in the House of Commons reduces the number of MPs needed for an absolute majority in parliament. Sinn Fein…
Month: December 2014
December 20, 2014
Once Christmas is over, MPs will sit for just 54 more days before the election
Parliament has shut up shop for Christmas. The House of Commons won’t meet again until 5 January 2015, with the House of Lords returning the following day. MPs will then…
December 19, 2014
Latest by-election results: Christmas cheer for Labour and the Tories
Just two council by-elections were held on Thursday. Labour held a seat comfortably on Nottinghamshire council: Ollerton is in the marginal Tory constituency of Sherwood, which is one of Labour’s…
December 18, 2014
A coalition government in 2015: what the smaller parties are saying – update
A few weeks ago I ran through what each of the smaller parties have said about whether or not they would be prepared to join a coalition in the next parliament,…
December 17, 2014
Poll update: how to make sense of not very much
The opinion poll averages for each of the main parties so far this month are Labour 33%; Conservative 31.7%; Ukip 15.8%; Liberal Democrats 7.6%. This is barely a change on…
December 16, 2014
The general election isn’t the only poll taking place on 7 May
Along with contests to choose the 650 MPs for the next UK parliament, on 7 May 2015 local elections are also being held across most of England. A handful of…
December 15, 2014
Labour v SNP: a guide to the battleground
Jim Murphy, Labour’s new leader in Scotland, has wasted no time in signalling the extent of his ambition. He told the BBC on Sunday he is “determined” his party will…
December 14, 2014
History shows a party can end up in power with less than 35% of the vote
I noted a few days ago that support for Labour and the Tories is at an all-time low. Their combined share in opinion polls is currently averaging 64%, suggesting over…
December 13, 2014
Latest by-election results: big wins for the small parties
A feast of council by-elections this week. There were a total of 12 contests on Thursday, taking place across England, Scotland and Wales. Plus there’s an extra result left over…
December 12, 2014
The Home Counties: a true blue heartland
For the next stage of my tour of the electoral map, I’ve grouped together five counties that don’t fit neatly into the traditional regions of the UK, but which all…
UK elections 2015 