Comment: Time for concrete action on electoral reform
Hearing the prime minister on an ippr platform yesterday, speaking with some passion about constitutional reform and the need for a ‘new politics’, took me back to the summer of 2007. By Lisa Harker It seems a long time ago now, but when Gordon Brown took over at No 10 such reform was right at […]
Labour reflects on poll mauling
Labour politicians have awoken this morning to find their grip on Britain severely diminished following disappointing election results in England, Scotland and Wales. The government’s losses in English local elections were the Conservative party’s gain, with David Cameron’s party winning more than 870 council seats, mostly in the south and centre of the nation. In […]
Labour avert ‘electoral disaster’
Labour claims it has avoided “electoral disaster”, despite losing seats across England, Scotland and Wales. A significant swing to the SNP in Scotland could see the nationalists gain power, but with many seats yet to declare and scores of spoilt ballot papers, the result is still too close to call. Labour remains the single largest […]
Local election 2007 results
ENGLAND Allerdale – No overall control hold Alnwick – No overall control hold Amber Valley – Conservative hold Arun – Conservative hold Ashfield – No overall control gain Ashford – Conservative hold Aylesbury Vale – Conservative hold Babergh – No overall control hold Barnsley – Labour hold Barrow-in Furness – No overall control hold Basildon […]
Inquiry launched into spoilt ballot papers
The Electoral Commission has launched a full independent review of the Scottish election after it emerged as many as 100,000 votes have been discounted. Up to ten per cent of ballot papers were dismissed as spoilt, as Scottish voters appear to have been confused by the complicated voting system. Scots had to select a constituency […]
Nationalists takes largest slice of Holyrood
Labour has “lost its moral authority” to govern Scotland, the SNP claimed today as it won the largest number of seats in the Scottish parliament. However, Labour showed no signs of conceding defeat and indicated they would seek to form a coalition government. First minister Jack McConnell insisted the results are “very, very close” and […]
Bank holiday voting ‘would boost turnout’
Holding elections on a special bank holiday would reverse dwindling turnout, a Labour MP has argued. Writing for a series of political essays published by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, Emily Thornberry argues that weekend voting or an additional bank holiday could improve participation in the democratic process. Prompted by falling […]
‘Banana republic’ concerns renewed in Birmingham
More than 20,000 names have been removed from the register for postal votes in the wards at the centre of a vote rigging scandal in 2004. The BBC has found that 22,500 people have seemingly dropped off the register for postal ballots in the six Birmingham wards investigated after the 2004 election. In Aston and […]
Lib Dem commitment to PR ‘absolute’
Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell is expected to say his party’s commitment to proportional representation is “absolute”. His comments come after a senior party official has said electoral reform was “not a deal maker and not a deal breaker” for a possible coalition deal. But in a speech to Welsh Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies is […]
Northern Ireland prepares for the polls
The Northern Ireland assembly election takes place tomorrow and the electoral commission has released a last minute reminder for voters. More than 10,000 votes were wasted in the last election, the commission notes, and it is urging voters to avoid some of the common mistakes. Voters are reminded that the election to the assembly uses […]
