Tag Archives: UKIP
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What your choice means at this election
1June 8, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
I am an unashamed centrist. I vote for what works. It gets me into ‘trouble’ with people who have far …
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UKIP’s Brexit tests – any negotiation is too much
Leave a commentMay 27, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The launch of the UKIP manifesto was a chance for us to see them put the details on what being …
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Why the Progressive Pact may need to be fact.
3May 12, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Two days ago I reported details of a tacit ‘reactionary pact’ in which UKIP voters were defecting to the Tories …
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UKIP haven’t died. They’ve won.
Leave a commentMay 10, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
In amongst the possibly genuinely held joy of many on the centre and left of politics at the fall of …
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What the council elections mean for #ge2017
Leave a commentMay 6, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Tom Newton Dunn, Political Editor of The Sun, reported on Thursday that a Senior Tory had told him that he …
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Does a political earthquake await in Wales?
Leave a commentApril 30, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
With thanks to Professor Roger Scully from Cardiff University, I have some strange readings from the political Richter scale to report …
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How the British election system could come to Labour’s aid.
Leave a commentApril 25, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Predictions for Labour are dire. With no real position on Brexit, and one of the most unpopular mainstream Party leaders …
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Six reasons why the 2017 General Election is so hard to predict
Leave a commentApril 20, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
So, the vote to overturn the Fixed Term Parliament Act and call a General Election passed with barely a murmur …
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Why new participants in politics need to listen more.
1September 21, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Speaking this week to the Press Gazette, Ian Hislop, the editor of satirical magazine Private Eye and star of BBC’s …
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A government imposing austerity backed by 24% of the electorate is a legitimate as 250,000 people marching against it
Leave a commentJune 24, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Last weekend (20th June) there was an anti-austerity march in Central London. It was reported variously that 250,000 people …
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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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Farage is back – good or bad for UKIP?
Leave a commentMay 14, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
So, Nigel Farage is back. Already. Despite the media’s spluttering over it being a “backtrack” on his promise to resign …
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First Past the Post – Disproportional Representation or Producer of stable government?
Leave a commentMay 11, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Let’s start with the two graphs above. On the left are the actual seats won. One the right are …
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5 Midnight thoughts after the three Sunderland results.
Leave a commentMay 7, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
1) The Pope is Catholic and Labour have won three seats in Sunderland. 2) The good news for Labour is …
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It’s polling day! – Five things to know about today
2May 7, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
1. Rules for the poll booth – For those of you for whom today is your first opportunity to vote, congratulations, …
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UKIP’s manifesto – plans relying completely on the counter-factual
Leave a commentApril 17, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
What I have liked about UKIP’s contribution to British politics over the past few years has been the effect that …
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UKIP should understand that cutting foreign aid will INCREASE health tourism
Leave a commentApril 7, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
During last week’s leaders’ debate we saw the launch of what UKIP insiders have called a ‘shock and awful’ strategy …
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The leaders’ debate. How they rated.
4April 3, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
So that was the mass debate (stop saying it quickly at the back). Seven adults shouting at each other repeating …
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Conservatives most seats, coalition impossible. Current poll predictions analysed.
Leave a commentMarch 29, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
You may be confused, given the forecast at the moment is for the Labour and Conaervative share of the vote …
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Nothing can be ruled out when it comes to post-election deals
Leave a commentMarch 28, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
A few weeks ago, the Conservatives released a poster by their advertising agency containing a large Alex Salmond with Ed …
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Unrealistic targets are not the way to deal with the politics of immigration
Leave a commentMarch 5, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Talk to people around the country about immigration, and they will say that it is a really important topic for …
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UKIP: The first hundred days – lazy, ignorant and vacuous broadcasting
2February 20, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
About 6 years’ ago, whilst on playground duty, I was approached by a year 11 (equivalent to a fifth former …
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Successfully bashing the Conservatives is not necessarily a successful week for Labour
Leave a commentFebruary 17, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
At first glance, it looks like Labour had a very good week last week. Starting off by pointing out the …
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The development of a ‘Left-Wing bloc’ could spell curtains for Cameron
Leave a commentJanuary 28, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
It must be lonely being David Cameron these days. As the furore over the TV debates show, we are developing …
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UK Party leader debates….it’s just not how our democracy works
Leave a commentJanuary 27, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
That the Party leader debates should happen seems to be obvious to everyone. But a closer look at what they …
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Amjad Bashir – time for political parties to do a lot more research on defectors
Leave a commentJanuary 26, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Political parties love defections. They say to the public, the parties think, that the defector is so ridden with doubt …
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Why David Cameron wants the Green Party in the TV debates
Leave a commentJanuary 12, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
It isn’t very difficult to understand why David Cameron has insisted that he won’t be involved in the planned TV …
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Four possible election outcomes and what they would mean
Leave a commentJanuary 10, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Towards the end of last year the pollster Peter Kellner from YouGov set out in The Times four possible results …
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Conservative victory could hinge on whether Labour voters hate UKIP more than they love Labour
Leave a commentJanuary 8, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Here’s an interesting concept to get your head around. What are the chances of diehard Labour supporters voting Conservative for …
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Wales 2015 Part 1 – As you were
Leave a commentJanuary 2, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Whereas Scotland’s 2015 results could change the course of the 2015 General election result, the results from Wales will not. …
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2015 New Year Politics Prediction….impossible!
Leave a commentJanuary 1, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Happy New Year everyone. Welcome to what promises to be one of the most memorable years of politics of our …
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The prospect of Labour winning has Conservatives starting to build up funds for a quick second election
Leave a commentDecember 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Some interesting gossip emanating from Conservative HQ is that they have started to solicit donations to fund a second election …
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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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Labour immigration policy cannot exist without offering an EU referendum
2December 23, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The Labour Party is undergoing convulsions on the topic of immigration this week. First, Ed Miliband gave what he had …
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“Septimana horibilis” for UKIP? Or just what we have to come to expect?
Leave a commentDecember 17, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
What a week UKIP have had. Any other political party would have collapsed under the ridicule that they have brought …
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We need to pass every policy announcement from now on through the ‘Coalition lens’
Leave a commentDecember 7, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Bearing in mind their financial need to get things right, it is interesting to see that there isn’t a single …
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Cameron needs to take on his party’s own Militant Tendency
Leave a commentDecember 1, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
30 years ago today, the Labour Party were engaged in an existential struggle against a group of ideologues who were …
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The farcical use of “tolerance” as a reason to cancel a political debate involving UKIP at UEA
5November 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The most depressing thing about the story (click here) of students at the University of East Anglia coming together to …
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You want the truth on immigration? You can’t handle the truth.
16November 28, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Owen Paterson – a Conservative MP who used to the Environment Secretary, gave a speech this week in which he …
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The crack up of the Lib Dem vote is why UKIP and SNP will NOT want to go into government
Leave a commentNovember 27, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It was, almost, apocalypse for the Liberal Democrats in Rochester and Strood. Geoff Juby, their candidate in the by-election, got …
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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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Combatting UKIP over policies..the lack of them and the flip-flops
Leave a commentNovember 25, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It’s time to dump this “UKIP are right, don’t vote for them” strategy. We are getting near to the day …
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UKIP are getting Labour voters who are ‘left-behind’, not ‘left-wing’
3November 24, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
In the 1970s, some changes started to take place in terms of how businesses operate. Globalisation took root, and the …
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Rochester may go Reckless, but it means very little
Leave a commentNovember 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So this morning the constituents of Rochester and Strood go to the ballot box in a by-election to choose an …
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The 2016 General Election – what it will look like
9November 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Yes, that isn’t a typo. I do mean that I am expecting there to be a 2016 General Election. Our …
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Nigel Farage wants his country back. To what extent?
Leave a commentNovember 14, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Journalists love Nigel Farage for a simple reason – he gives good copy. He says what he believes and isn’t …
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The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is worth the small decrease in our sovereignty
Leave a commentOctober 31, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
How much is a small decrease in our sovereignty worth? I would like to answer that with some statistics about …
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EU must be having a laugh with your ‘prosperity surcharge’
Leave a commentOctober 25, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
How kind of the EU commission to write UKIP’s party political broadcast for the Rochester & Stroud by-election. Not even …
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Winning on immigration will not win elections. Fact.
Leave a commentOctober 21, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It’s all a bit odd. The Conservatives seem to think that they will win the next election by talking a …
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