Political commentary
Judge us on fairness and social mobility - Clegg
Posted by Mark Pack at Wed, 18/08/2010 - 2:00pm in Political commentary
Tackling the budget deficit may the coalition government's short-term overriding need, but its legacy will be both a stronger economy and also a fairer society according to the speech Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gave earlier today.
Is this the leakiest Government ever?
Posted by Nick Laitner at Wed, 04/08/2010 - 9:56am in Political commentary
Today's Guardian publication of a leaked letter from Teresa May to George Osborne, setting out the prospect of a possible legal challenge to the Budget, is the latest in a string of leaks out of a still very young Government.
The history of Prime Minister's Questions
Posted by Mark Pack at Wed, 21/07/2010 - 9:35am in Political commentary
Today sees Nick Clegg take to the Despatch Box to answer Prime Minister's Questions in David Cameron's absence from the UK.
Several Liberal Democrats have taken to twitter expressing their anticipation, such as Jo Swinson:
reserving a seat to watch a little bit of Lib Dem history later today - Nick Clegg taking #pmqs, first Lib leader to do so since 1922
Birds of a feather: how the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party shapes up
Posted by Mark Pack at Tue, 13/07/2010 - 7:57am in Political commentary
The June/July edition of Parliamentary Brief ran this piece looking at the state of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party:
A great transformation? What will the White Paper mean for the NHS?
Posted by Mike Birtwistle at Mon, 12/07/2010 - 3:38pm in Health Mandate commentary, Political commentary
For years in opposition, Conservative health policy has been something of a paradox. Policy papers setting out fundamental change in some detail (at least for an opposition) were accompanied by an almost boringly repetitive message of reassurance about the Party's belief in the NHS and its competence to manage it. The reassurance achieved cut through but the radical change which was explicit in the policy rarely did.
Press Complaints Commission review makes 75 recommendations but suggests no major change
Posted by Mark Pack at Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:18pm in Political commentary
An eleven month review into the workings of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has made 75 recommendations but is not suggesting any fundamental alterations in the ways in which the PCC works. The relatively modest total set of recommendations is in contrast to the views of the Culture, Media and Sport committee in the House of Commons, which earlier this year recommended major changes to the work of the PCC, including giving it the option of fining publications for breaching its code.
The size of the House of Commons in historical context
Posted by Mark Pack at Mon, 05/07/2010 - 4:18pm in Political commentary
Earlier today the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announced plans to cut the size of the House of Commons to 600 seats from the current 650 size. The Commons has often changed in size over the previous decades, but as this graph shows 600 would be the smallest number of MPs since the 1867 Reform Act and only the fourth time the Commons has been reduced in size. The cut however is smaller both in seat numbers and proportionate terms than that introduced after 1918:
“Unavoidable” and “Fair” claimed Osborne but how does the Budget maths stack up?
Posted by Katherine Morgan at Wed, 23/06/2010 - 11:22am in Political commentary
Yesterday George Osborne set out an undoubtedly bold Budget aimed at seizing control of the public finances in order to bring down the debt and restore economic growth. This Budget was, he argued both "unavoidable" and "fair" - but was it?
Three points.
Doom and/or gloom at Westminster
Posted by Rupert Lewis at Tue, 22/06/2010 - 1:26pm in Political commentary
For what seems like months now, political and economic commentators have been offering their own 'advice' to the new Chancellor on how to get to grips with the worst national balance sheet since the Great Depression.
Election 2.0: How did the internet shape the general election?
Posted by Mark Pack at Mon, 21/06/2010 - 5:15pm in Political commentary
The Yoosk website recently put together a panel of bloggers to answer questions about the impact of the internet, and social media in particular, on British politics. Alongside Iain Dale, Alex Smith and James Evans I answered a range of questions:
