Tag Archives: GOVP1
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EU referendum – the importance of the question
Leave a commentMay 29, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
It would be easy to think that words don’t matter. But they do in the case of a referendum. …
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Interesting initial statistics on voting behaviour at the 2015 General Election
Leave a commentMay 18, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Using Lord Ashcroft’s post-election polling and comparing with previous voting statistics gives us some interesting findings. Summary Conservatives’ previously large …
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Why we are unlikely to get a change in election system
2May 17, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
The problems with trying to get a referendum on changing the election system (the way in which votes are …
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Can you campaign against fuel poverty AND oppose fracking at the same time?
2February 5, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Last week, MPs voted overwhelmingly against a bid to have all fracking suspended. However, this was not without controversy. Tessa …
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Day one and Labour quickly falls into Tories’ austerity trap
Leave a commentJanuary 6, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Amongst the astonishingly negative start to the General Election campaign yesterday, as the Tories said that Labour would crash the …
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Northern Ireland 2 – The most important constitutencies
Leave a commentDecember 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The best way to predict what will happen in Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies in the 2015 General election is to …
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The most significant tactical vote move may be from Green to Labour
Leave a commentDecember 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Tactical voting has often been seen as a stick to beat First Past the Post with. That people are forced …
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Miliband’s deficit cutting plan is late, but better than never
Leave a commentDecember 12, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The trouble with the speech Ed Miliband gave yesterday on how Labour would reduce the deficit is not that it …
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If UKIP learn how to play the FPTP election system properly it could make 20 seats’ difference
Leave a commentNovember 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Whilst he was lauding UKIP’s victories in the Clacton and Rochester & Strood by-elections, I couldn’t help noticing a not …
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The rules of Regicide – how can the Labour Party get rid of Ed?
4November 11, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
I don’t want to spread mischief, but perhaps it is time to review the mechanisms that the Labour Party has …
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Israel’s electorate didn’t “choose” their government
Leave a commentAugust 15, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
One of the criticisms I have heard about Israelis over the past month is that if they were interested in …
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Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement – we still have one Labour Party
Leave a commentJuly 26, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s greatest achievement as the leader of an opposition party that was just battered at a General Election has …
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50,000 people assembled in Parliament Square to protest against austerity: why wasn’t the BBC interested?
2June 22, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Despite the complaints I have made about the dangers to pluralism in this country (click here and here), I am …
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Lib Dems education policy – pushing them Ed-wards
Leave a commentJune 14, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The most interesting aspect of the Lib Dems’ announcement this morning of a manifesto promise at the next election for all …
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A Queen’s speech to keep the Coalition going until May 7th – nothing more
Leave a commentJune 5, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Every year the Queen’s speech heralds the State Opening of Parliament. Drawn up by the Government of the day, it …
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Newark by-election: Why does it matter so much to the Conservatives?
Leave a commentJune 4, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In the 2010 General Election, Patrick Mercer got 54% of the vote in his Newark constituency, winning by over 16,000 …
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2014 election focus: An existential crisis for the Lib Dems
Leave a commentMay 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
If we just talk about the numbers, the last week has been a complete disaster for the Liberal Democrats. In …
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UKIP and Local Council election results – what do they mean
Leave a commentMay 23, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There is no doubt UKIP has had a great night at the local council elections. There is no surprise that …
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Balcombe fracking protest acquittals – pluralism restored
Leave a commentMay 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The recent release of figures disclosing that of the 114 charges against protesters (including Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP …
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A legacy for Ann McGuire would be better mental health services for teenagers
Leave a commentMay 16, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The funeral for Ann McGuire, the school teacher who was fatally stabbed last month, takes place today in Leeds. She …
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Whatever Cameron says, Scotland is sliding towards a “Yes” vote
Leave a commentMay 15, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
David Cameron visited Glasgow today to make an appeal to the Scottish people to vote “No”. He argued that doing …
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Labour’s 48-hour GP pledge – strange politics and economics?
Leave a commentMay 13, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Ed Miliband’s pledge that under a Labour government all patients will get an appointment with their GP within 48 hours is …
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Time for Political Financial Fair Play rules?
Leave a commentMay 11, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So Manchester City have won the Premiership. Well done to them. But the Champions League isn’t likely to be a …
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Free school meals for 4-7 year olds – The best of intentions, but are the consequences worse than we thought?
Leave a commentMay 10, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The leaked emails yesterday between the Department of education and the Office of Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, reveals …
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Labour’s latest PPB – Infantile policy-light stupidity that should have Nigel Farage sniggering into his beer
3May 9, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
There’s many things I could say about the latest Labour Party Political broadcast. I could say that it is just …
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In the rental property market Labour’s ‘cap’ should fit
Leave a commentMay 7, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In terms of consistency of policy aim – the announcement by Ed Miliband of Labour’s ideas to reduce the imbalance …
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