November 04, 2014
Merseyside: Labour’s reliable fortress
Here’s an area of the country with a very high chance of absolutely no constituencies changing hands at the election. Merseyside has settled – some might say ossified – into…
November 03, 2014
How ‘Others’ could overtake the Lib Dems at the election
One consequence of the Liberal Democrats doing particularly badly at the 2015 election would be a downgrading of their status from third party of British politics to fourth – or even fifth….
November 02, 2014
Latest by-election results: a double for independents
No gains for the main parties this week. The only seats to change hands in Thursday’s council by-elections were won by independents – in one case, from another independent:
November 01, 2014
Labour sees off Ukip in South Yorkshire
The Labour party’s comfortable win in Thursday’s South Yorkshire PCC by-election should not have been unexpected. The loose talk about Ukip being in with a chance was a textbook example…
October 31, 2014
October poll round-up: time to think local
All four of the main UK parties bounced around the polls this month with an unpredictability that prompted many a newspaper headline. Labour rose as high as 38% and plunged as…
October 30, 2014
South Yorkshire goes to the polls
The second largest by-election ever held in the UK takes place today. Voters across South Yorkshire have the chance to choose a new police and crime commissioner, following the resignation…
October 29, 2014
Greater Manchester: Labour’s rickety fortress
The UK’s second-largest conurbation has a population of 2.5m. It has 27 parliamentary constituencies, over three-quarters of which are Labour. It is one of the party’s traditional bedrocks – which…
October 28, 2014
Both the Lib Dems and Labour are now in the SNP’s sights
Speculation over how well the SNP will do at the election has not abated since the referendum a month ago. Almost all of it has focused on how many seats…
October 27, 2014
The Ukip inflation game
If you’re in the sensationalism industry, you’re only as good as your next headline. And if you’re in the Ukip sensationalism industry, that means headlines of ever-increasing bluster. Over the…
October 26, 2014
An electoral pact could be on the cards – but it’s not between the Tories and Ukip
If either Labour or the Conservatives need to form a “grand coalition” to take power after the election, the parties of Northern Ireland may suddenly find themselves kingmakers. The Tories…
UK elections 2015 