Scottish Parliament election preview: Continuity and change in the Highlands and Islands

Scottish Parliament election preview: Continuity and change in the Highlands and Islands

The Highlands and Islands region of Scotland covers an enormous land-mass, much of it extremely sparsely populated and remote. Traditionally, it has been a site of strength for the Liberal Democrats, however that dynamic (other than in the Northern Isles) seems to be changing. Here, Juliet Swann looks at the history of Scottish Parliament elections […]

More female candidates in 2016 is positive, but not the full story

More female candidates in 2016 is positive, but not the full story

On Tuesday, Democratic Dashboard launched its data briefing on Gender and the 2016 Elections, looking at the prospects for gender balance in the Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and London elections in May. Here, Carl Cullinane summarises the report’s key findings. You can download the briefing here, or get the data here. Similar PostsWhat turnout can […]

Scottish Parliament Election preview: The end of Labour’s fortress in Glasgow?

Scottish Parliament Election preview: The end of Labour’s fortress in Glasgow?

Glasgow, sitting within ‘Red Clydeside’, has long been a Labour citadel, with the party historically weighing rather than counting the vote, such was their dominance. But elections in 2007 and 2010 showed that the City is nowadays willing to look elsewhere politically, with the independence referendum of 2014 accelerating the shift in support from Labour to SNP. […]

Posted in: May 2016 elections
Hillsborough: A most extraordinary scandal

Hillsborough: A most extraordinary scandal

A few days over 27 years and justice may finally have been done. After new inquests that have been sitting for two years, a jury decided that the football fans who died in the Hillsborough stadium disaster on 15 April 1989 were unlawfully killed. Local Merseyside MP, Andy Burnham, described what occurred since that day […]

The Polish Catholic Church has become intertwined with Euroscepticism and the promotion of conservative “national values”

The Polish Catholic Church has become intertwined with Euroscepticism and the promotion of conservative “national values”

After a surge of support in the Presidential and General Elections last year, the right-wing national conservative Law and Justice Party now dominates Polish politics. In this post, Simona Guerra explores the government’s relationship with the Polish Church and its role in fuelling religious Euroscepticism and supporting draconian abortion laws. She writes that the close alliance shows there […]

Accusing the ‘Leave’ campaign of utopianism is playing into its hands

Accusing the ‘Leave’ campaign of utopianism is playing into its hands

The ‘Remain’ campaign, who are in favour of the UK’s continued membership of the European Union, recently accused Michael Gove of the rival ‘Leave’ campaign of engaging in “utopianism”. This, kind of thinking, argues Craig Berry in a post which originally appeared on the New Statesman’s Staggers blog is counterproductive, as it hands the baton of optimism […]

Posted in: EU referendum
Far from being a meritocratic and equalising device, the Family Migration Visa racialises certain migrant-citizen families

Far from being a meritocratic and equalising device, the Family Migration Visa racialises certain migrant-citizen families

Joseph Turner argues that we need to see recent changes which mean that British citizens can only live with non-EU spouses/partners if they earn over £18,600 p/a, as part of a broader history of strategies which have managed the intimate relations of citizens. He suggests that the visa retains a familiar function to the colonial practices of […]

President Obama is right to repeat his opposition to Brexit

President Obama is right to repeat his opposition to Brexit

President Obama’s intervention into the debate over whether or not the UK should leave the European Union has been attacked by Eurosceptics in the UK. Tim Oliver writes that given that the UK and US frequently interfere in one another’s domestic matters, and the concerns in Washington over the consequences of Brexit for both the EU […]

Scottish Parliament Election preview: Whatever happens in Lothians, we’re bound to see new faces

Scottish Parliament Election preview: Whatever happens in Lothians, we’re bound to see new faces

The Scottish Parliamentary region of Lothians contains Edinburgh, as well as some surrounding areas. It was in this region that Labour saw their only MP elected at the 2015 General Election, however the SNP dominated the other seats. Will we see a rerun this May? Here, Juliet Swann runs the contests in the region, and […]

Posted in: May 2016 elections
A vote to leave the EU may have a detrimental impact on Parliament

A vote to leave the EU may have a detrimental impact on Parliament

What will life be like in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords if the UK leaves the EU? And if it is a vote to remain? Will Parliament have more or less influence on the government’s dealings with its European partners post-23 June? Sara Hobolt and Sara Hagemann report on the expert evidence gathered […]

Posted in: EU referendum