May 22, 2014
Results timetable: who’s declaring where and when
Gone are the days when councils counted through the night to bring you the local election results as fast as they could. The winners of this year’s contests are being…
May 21, 2014
Nigel Farage expects a ‘record turnout’, but what’s the figure to beat?
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Nigel Farage forecast a “record turnout” in the European elections. It’s rare to hear a politician talking up the likelihood of a…
May 21, 2014
12 contests to watch – and when to expect the results
Here are a dozen councils with elections on Thursday, the outcome of which will help to build a picture of how each of the main parties are faring overall. I’ve…
May 20, 2014
How our MEPs will be elected: the dos and the D’Hondts of PR
This week’s European elections will give the UK’s palate a rare taste of that most acquired of sensations: PR. The whole of the country gets to sample the joys (or…
May 19, 2014
For the three main parties, it’s a question of whitewash or wipeout
Local government in England has become remarkably polarised over the last few years. Huge geographical divides have sprung up, if not overnight, then as a consequence of a series of…
May 18, 2014
The Liberal Democrats’ dicey dozen: how many will survive?
The defection of Edward McMillan-Scott from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems in March 2010 gave headline writers what they were long craving: a Lib Dem group of MEPs that…
May 17, 2014
The five ballot papers where there’ll be only one name to choose from
The Electoral Reform Society drew attention yesterday to the five wards in the 2014 local elections in which there is only one candidate standing. It described this as making a…
May 16, 2014
Mid-month poll round-up: Labour’s not-so-incredible shrinking lead
Halfway through May, here’s how the parties’ poll averages are looking: Labour is on 34.9% (down 1.7 percentage points compared with April), the Conservatives are on 32.7% (up 0.3), the…
May 15, 2014
Where the fight for London will be won and lost
London is undoubtedly one of the key battlegrounds in next week’s elections. It could also be one of the bloodiest. Every single seat across the entire municipal area is up…
May 14, 2014
Four UK parties could be wiped out at the European elections
…and one of them isn’t the Liberal Democrats. The 73 MEPs currently representing the UK are divided between 14 parties: That adds up to 72. The 73rd MEP, Godfrey Bloom,…
UK elections 2015 