Mark Pack

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like photos of potholes. Or even empty pavements. I like photos of candidates. I like photos of candidates and potholes. Looking glum or not. But so often the ‘action’ photo of the local campaigning ‘team’ shows one static solitary person doing nothing much other than looking lonely and static. The solution? Read this excellent set [...] »

When I covered the results of the Power2010 consultation on what political reforms it should promote, there was a brief discussion on this site and elsewhere about whether Power2010 would have the campaigning muscle to really make an impact. Today brings news of how Power2010 is trying to ensure that. Their news release says: MPs were put [...] »

The following quote is a genuine quote from an academic journal. Oh yes. Why have I thought necessary to mention that? Well, it’s about the stock market. And how windy the weather is. And how stocks go up or down depending on how windy it is. Not just the stocks of windbreak or heating/cooling firms. All stocks. Yes indeed: This study investigated the [...] »

A quick update to my post which pointed out how the media had comprehensively misreported findings about how many people are registered to vote, painting an unduly pessimistic picture. The Evening Standard at least has now corrected its report.  »

The legal firm Wragge & Co have put together a useful guide: ‘Purdah’ is a political convention, which formally applies to government ministers and civil servants in central government during the period immediately before a general election. During a period of purdah, ministers and civil servants will refrain from taking decisions or making policy announcements which are [...] »

This year we’ve tracking each month how good newspapers are at reporting their own political opinion polls. Getting your own story right isn’t perhaps the highest of bars to set newspapers, but on past experience it’s one they often seem to miss. But what’s the actual evidence? Who does best? Who does worst? In order to provide [...] »

Not a combination I’d expected to put in a headline, especially as wrestling with recalcitrant letter boxes, RISOs or activists isn’t quite in the Lara Croft style, but courtesy of the BBC we have: A new £36.2m Derby road is to be named after computer game and movie character Lara Croft following a public vote. The star of the [...] »

STV reports: Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg says that the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War has provided enough information to suggest that the war was illegal. Speaking on Radio Tay on Friday morning at the same time Prime Minister Gordon Brown was facing questions at the inquiry in London, he said: “I’m not a lawyer, but [...] »

Two different stories today, unconnected in one way but both – particularly when put together – speaking volumes for the current state of the Conservative Party. Obviously, panic or disagreements are in no way involved. Not at all. First we have ConservativeHome’s take on the party starting to use YouGov in addition to Populus: Up until now [...] »

Yesterday we covered an open letter from 25+ Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidates (and see also this comment from ex-MP Richard Allan), expressing concerns over the line the party had taken in the House of Lords on a key part of the Digital Economy Bill. The party’s DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) team [...] »