Archive of articles from 2009

Sleaze: A timeline

Timeline of sleaze - Cash for questions, cash for honours, cash for nothing.

Interview: The Tiananmen Square protest organiser

Shao Jiang, one of the organisers of the Tiananmen Square demonstration, talks to <i>politics.co.uk</i> about Sino-UK relations, personal freedom, and what it's like to be imprisoned in China.

Financial Crisis: Political state of play

The fate of Britain's political parties has oscillated widely since the financial crisis hit. politics.co.uk analyses the current state of play.

PMQs as-it-happened

See how this week's prime minister's questions went down minute-by-minute.

Profile: Sir Paul Stephenson

Deputies live out life in the shadows, waiting and desperately hoping the boss falls from grace before they themselves are too old to take over. Often they are disappointed.

Feature: Extreme porn and civil liberties

From today it will be illegal to own extreme pornography. What does that mean, and is it the right thing to do?

Feature: What's the problem with the Lords?

With four Labour MPs allegedly accepting money to try and change the law in favour of their clients, the Lords now has to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Profile: Spotlight on the Labour Lords

Who are the Labour Lords Snape, Taylor, Moonie and Truscott at the centre of the cash for ammendments controversy?

Interview: The Guantanamo inmate

Moazzam Begg, campaigner and former Guantanamo detainee

politics.co.uk interviews one of the first Britons to be released from Guantanamo Bay

Profile: Peter Hain

The man found guilty of financial irregularities has a colourful and radical past.

PMQs as-it-happened

Follow this week's prime minister's questions in real-time.

MPs have a healthy sense of their own importance in the general scheme of things and are often, as a result, uninterested by anything happening outside British politics. Barack Obama's inauguration proved an exception to the rule.

The loser: Peter Ainsworth

With any cabinet reshuffle there will inevitable be casualties and this time it is Peter Ainsworth.

Tory reshuffle in full

David Cameron's front bench re-shuffle in full

Profile: Kenneth Clarke

Treading the tightrope

Feature: United fronts

Persuading politicians is always difficult. Which is why, in different ways, lobby groups are increasingly preferring a unified stance to get the government listening.

PMQs as-it-happened

Keep up with today's prime minister's questions in real time.

Social mobility white paper: Key measures

All the key measures in the government's new social mobility white paper.

Interview: Edward Garnier

Edward Garnier, shadow justice secretary

The shadow justice minister talks to politics.co.uk about prison, reform and being opposed to capital punishment.

Who's on the new Lib Dem front bench?

The lost art of keeping a secret, rediscovered.

George Osborne skipped up onto the stage at the Policy Centre full of the joys of a man who can say what he likes about "effective economic policy" without having to prove the courage of his convictions.