It’s local election day here in the UK. There are elections for the Mayor of London, the London Assembly, local councils in Scotland, Wales, and many parts of England. And various cities are voting on whether to have a directly elected mayor. So, if you live in an area with elections, I’d encourage you to [...]
On Thurdsay, Coventry (where I live) is one of ten local councils who will have referendums on the question of whether to replace the current system where elected councillors run the council with one where a directly elected mayor does. Like almost any change to the system, there are advantages and disadvantages to this. I [...]
I’ve been catching up on some of the party election broadcasts for the local elections, I’m rather worried by what I’m seeing. There’s very little good (telling us what the party would do to improve the area), and far too much bad (focusing on national issues, rather than ones local government has any control over, [...]
Here in Coventry, a group called the Christian Movement for Great Britain are standing several candidates in the local elections. Their policy platform includes traditionally Christian stances like opposing abortion and promoting ethical banking. But it also includes policies like the end of wheel-clamping. Add in the Christian Party and the Christian Peoples’ Alliance (who [...]
Last week, I came across a forum discussion on things that are important, but which we simply aren’t interested in. A poster by the name of SilverNemesis mentioned politics, and I asked him what politicians could do to help get people interested. Here’s the response: Stop talking ¤¤¤¤. Stop taking the piss with privilege. Stop [...]
On Tuesday, I explained what AV is and isn’t, and yesterday I looked at some of the myths and lies about AV. Today, I want to look at the impact AV would have on election results. I’ll start with some general points, before looking at how it will affect the individual parties (though I won’t [...]
Yesterday, I gave a quick overview of what AV is and isn’t. Today, I want to look at some of the myths, distortions, and outright lies that are being peddled by both campaigns, by the media, and by members of the public. Incidentally, of the two campaigns, the No campaign is the least honest by [...]
On May 5th 2011, the UK will go to the polls to decide whether we want to change our voting system from the current First Past the Post system to the Alternative Vote system. There’s been a lot of confusion about this amongst both the general public and even in the two campaigns, so I [...]
Well, the English local elections, and elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly are coming up in a couple of weeks time. So here are my party’s election broadcasts. English Locals Scottish Parliament Welsh Assembly
Yesterday, I was at the TUC-organised march against the cuts. It was a fairly standard demonstration – you march from A to B, and then when you get to B, there are speeches. For the most part, there was something of a carnival atmosphere, with samba bands, brass bands, and choirs amongst the marchers. The [...]
