The History of Parliament blog has a fascinating piece on the origins of MPs holding constituency surgeries – that is, the practice of holding regular sessions in their constituency to which any constituent can come and raise any sort of question. There was no one clear creator of the idea, but MP surgeries do seem to have started with Liberal and Labour MPs: A century ago, the surgery certainly didn't exist. But it's difficult to be categorical about when and why Members started holding them. Their origins might be traced to the activities of some of the early East London ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls – indicates that party didn't feature in the polling questions separate from 'Others' or that the data is not yet available. Numbers in brackets show change ...
"One gets the impression from the book that the Liberal Democrats is currently less a vehicle of ideology or social change and more an artefact of Britain's electoral system. Indeed, the authors conclude with several reasonable goals - deduced from their empirical findings - for the party: "re-empowering the local", "a socially liberal party", "future proofing the party", and "the Liberal Democrats as a movement?" each of which would put the party on firmer ground."James Dennison reviews a new study of the party. "We already have the Bob Willis Test at Edgbaston (prostate cancer) and the Ruth Strauss Foundation Test ...
If Britain's Labour government is looking for it, there is a gaping door back into a new relationship with Europe – defense cooperation. And this door has the added advantage that increased defense cooperation between Britain and its European NATO allies is becoming essential to counter growing American disillusionment with Europe. Whether it is a MAGA-fied isolationism or a pivot to Asia, it is clear that foreign policymakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties are questioning America's commitment to Europe. For those on both sides of the English Channel this creates an opportunity to start to repair the damage ...
Kamala Harris – a great woman who will make a great President of the United States of America Over the past week I have watched with some fascination on my social media feeds and the televised excepts from the newspapers I follow on line the incredible processes and outcomes of America's Democratic National Convention 2024. Under Trump and MAGA I despaired for America and its people, and I despaired for the world. I have no doubt that the way Trump behaved in the White House emboldened autocrats and despots everywhere. His quick exit from Afghanistan has led to the subjugation ...
It is important to switch off. It is important to take time out from our daily routines. It is also important to detach ourselves from news and leave our "social media life" behind. Holidays should be an important part of our lives. This year, it was lovely to travel back to Croatia, my wife's native country, where we had an opportunity to spend 2.5 weeks. It was an important time for our family, as my eldest daughter completed her 18th birthday while we were away. A huge milestone. For the first time in a very long time, I decided not ...
The BBC report that a typical household's annual energy bill will rise by £149 in October under the new price cap set by Ofgem yesterday. They say that people using an average amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,717 a year, a 10% rise compared with now. In addition, standing charges are rising by one penny a day for gas and also for electricity, but the regulator is considering reforming the system: The cap, set by the energy regulator Ofgem, affects the price paid for each unit of gas and electricity used in 27 million homes in England, Wales ...
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