The weekend debate: How do we make government think long term?
“We must think long term” is a common cry in politics and government. Far easier said than done. … Read the full post »
Fixed-term Parliaments
Read my posts about the virtues and introduction of fixed-term Parliaments in the UK.
The Liberal Democrat challenges for 2011: winning elections
The reality of votes in ballot boxes has a strong drip-drip effect on party morale and activity. … Read the full post »
Do we need another political debating website?
New online political debating website launched is normally about as newsworthy as new Twitter app launched: they come along with great regularity, only the very few get much of an audience share and yet the media still love giving such reports plenty of attention.
… Read the full post »
Lords reform: 100 years in the making, another 50 to go?
One of the major achievements in the Coalition Agreement is the commitment of the Conservatives to support not merely a “wholly or mainly” elected Upper House but also one elected by proportional representation no less. … Read the full post »
10 questions for the Liberal Democrat conference
It’s a fair bet that much of the media coverage of Liberal Democrat conference will be of the form ‘THEY’RE DOOMED!’. … Read the full post »
Fixed-term Parliaments: better by standing orders?
Last week Malcolm Jack, the Clerk of the House of Commons, got a little flurry of media coverage for his evidence before a Parliamentary committee. … Read the full post »
Government moves right, political agenda moves elsewhere
Whether driven by circumstance or long-term plan, the reaction of David Cameron to the general election result has been an attempt to realign British politics. … Read the full post »
John Prescott illustrates Labour’s progressive problem
Many Liberal Democrats become very suspicious when they hear Labour members talk about the need for a broad progressive coalition, suspecting that for many of them the definition of progressive is really “agreeing with Labour”. … Read the full post »
Timing the alternative vote (AV) referendum
When should the Government’s promised referendum on introducing the alternative vote (as already used in the Lords in multiple ways) for elections to the House of Commons be held? … Read the full post »
The coalition agreement: political reform
The political reform section of the coalition document is the second longest in the whole agreement, beaten for length only by the NHS section. … Read the full post »