One question that comes up time and again from punters on the doorstep to far left activists is “why can’t you all just unite?” (although, ironically, Left Unity has ruled out unity with the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition for next year’s London Assembly elections). Of course, there are Very Important Reasons why myriad groups in the revolutionary […]
Posts under ‘Lib-Dems’
Remembering Charles Kennedy
Jun 3rd, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Turning on BBC News yesterday, I was thrown by the sad passing of Charles Kennedy. Not being a LibDem and living hundreds of miles from his constituency (as was), I never had occasion to bump into him in real life. Like most other political people the Charlie Kennedy I knew was the kindly presence on Have […]
Share:
What if David Miliband had won …
May 20th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.The polls were with Labour. The feedback on the doorstep was very encouraging. It looked like all the naysayers and the problems of the previous five years had been put to bed. Until that exit poll flashed up on the nation’s TV screens. It gave the Tories a clear lead, and one several seats away from […]
Share:
Cameron up shit creek as defeat beckons
Apr 26th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Cameron’s last desperate throw by rousing English nationalism is clearly aimed at saving Tory seats in areas where the UKIP challenge is pressing hardest, in order to ratchet up the total number of Tory seats which, when combined with likely allies, will enable him to just slip over the line back into Downing Street. On […]
Share:
Was there anything Liberal about the Tory-LibDem Coalition?
Mar 30th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.As the most wretched government in living memory shuffles off into the history books, let’s take some time to reflect. For all intents and purposes, at least where this blog is concerned, it was a Conservative government. It was hard to remember that this was actually a coalition between two parties that came together, they […]
Share:
What the general election means for education
Mar 25th, 2015 by Andy Newman.The basic facts behind Labour’s commitment to education are impressive. Between 1997 and 2010 there were 360,00 more teachers, 172,000 more teaching assistants, and 1,100 new schools built. Results improved, with 12% more pupils achieving five good GCSE grades, and 20% more 11 year old achieving expected standards in English and maths. The further education […]
Share:
Tory cuts will put public services and NHS at risk
Mar 12th, 2015 by Grahame Morris.We are less than ten weeks away until the general election when the country will give their views on five years of Coalition Government and the policies of austerity. Despite promising to balance the budget in a single parliament, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have missed their target on the deficit by £83 billion. It […]
Share:
Deficit nonsense: right, left and centre
Dec 18th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It is extraordinary that both the main parties have now put forward their plans for meeting the deficit, which is going to prove the centrepiece of the election, yet neither plan carries credibility. Osborne has once again committed the Tories to £30bn of further spending cuts on a rolling 3-year programme, i.e. currently targeted at […]
Share:
Support for staying in the European Union is at an all time high
Oct 23rd, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Calling it support might be a bit of a stretch but nevertheless this graph is interesting. Here’s your source. The professional pundits are probably right. This is a backlash of sorts against UKIP. The greater their presence is felt, the more their backwardness is plastered all over the media the stiffer the resistance to their blandishments becomes.
Share:
Lib Dems: “no one likes us and we don’t care!”
Oct 9th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Clegg could have said “no one likes us and we don’t care.” Reviled by the Tories and Labour in equal measure – that’s the lot of the Liberal Democrat. But now you’re scrapping with the Greens for fourth place, and your main competitors are them and Farage’s pint quaffing, poison-swilling rabble; this year’s party conference […]
