Posts Tagged ‘UK politics’

UK General Election – the mood on the doorstep

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, June 10th, 2024 - 12 comments

The UK still has the First Past the Post Electoral system. Something New Zealand should have absolutely no nostalgia for. This means that, while the campaign is UK-wide, a lot of campaign activity is directed into constituencies that are deemed marginal. In marginal constituencies, a General Election brings a conveyor belt of the good and the great supporting their prospective parliamentary candidate. In “safe seats” voters get much less attention.

British politics – hurry up and wait for a general election

Written By: - Date published: 4:58 am, May 21st, 2024 - 16 comments

While I do not pick elections, I think it is safe to make this point. If Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party are holding on for a dramatic change in polling numbers, they are unlikely to see this happen. On current polling, even a 7% swing in their favour would not be enough to stop them from losing the election. Labour should not be complacent, but it is increasingly obvious that the voter coalition that helped the Conservatives win in 2019 has collapsed.

Being a political satirist is difficult these days

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, November 16th, 2023 - 2 comments

One has to really feel for those trying to write political satire these days. How can a satirist be more ridiculous than many of our political leaders they wish to lampoon? Case in point, yesterday’s “resignation letter” from sacked former  UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Decoding the Doorstep: Insights from Canvassing Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Written By: - Date published: 3:22 am, July 10th, 2023 - 13 comments

Support for the Conservative and Unionist Party is collapsing, but this is turning to cynicism and rage rather than enthusiastic support for a Labour Government next year. There is a possibility that in 18 months’ time, UK Labour are in Government, but have lost the London Mayoralty.

Can Rishi Sunak save the Conservative Government?

Written By: - Date published: 12:26 am, January 27th, 2023 - 5 comments

Despite everything that has happened, it would be a serious mistake to underestimate the British Conservative Party which has proven time and again to be an electoral force to be reckoned with. In England, where over 80% of British voters live, Tory is the default option in many parts of the country. The polarisation within Britain is high with tensions from the Brexit debate and ongoing calls for Scottish Independence still simmering. The Tories can certainly play these divisions to their advantage in the hope of winning support

How is Boris Johnson still in Number 10?

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 am, February 21st, 2022 - 10 comments

Johnson and Cummings

 

Boris Johnson, should not on balance still be Prime Minister and in the long term, the Conservatives risk being severely punished for not removing him. But despite everything, he remains in post and still, we cannot write him off.

British identity and The Second World War

Written By: - Date published: 2:53 am, November 27th, 2021 - 1 comment

With regards to Johnson’s own leadership to date, his government’s apparent support of herd immunity as the response to COVID-19 in early 2020 had much more in common with Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy in the 1930s than the Battle of Britain.

Assisted dying law in New Zealand and the UK

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, December 9th, 2020 - 65 comments

Assisted Dying

There is now growing recognition internationally that the right to a dignified death is a fundamental human right. Assisted dying is not about reducing health care costs or pressuring those who are frail, old or disabled to end their life prematurely. It is about allowing those with a terminal illness the choice to die rather than face a period of significant physical decline and suffering before the end of their life.

UK: Too soon to end the lockdown

Written By: - Date published: 12:18 pm, May 9th, 2020 - 17 comments

First Secretary of State Dominic Raab has said that lockdown changes being announced this coming Sunday will be ‘modest’ and ‘small’. This is hardly surprising when earlier in the week the national statistician Professor Ian Diamond said that COVID-19 infection rates could be increasing. In particular, the number of cases being reported in care-homes appears to be increasing. Adding to the pressure both the Scottish and Welsh ruled out any significant relaxation of the lockdown rules.

Northern Ireland’s precarious peace

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, December 9th, 2019 - Comments Off on Northern Ireland’s precarious peace

On Friday, UK leader of the opposition revealed a leaked Treasury Paper which undermines the Prime Ministers claims that there will be no checks on goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. My earlier post on each of the party’s Brexit positions pointed out how critical Northern Ireland has been in the Brexit debate.

Terror attack at London Bridge

Written By: - Date published: 2:35 am, December 4th, 2019 - 2 comments

With just over a week to go till the UK General Election, polls (which are questionable in reliability) show the race getting tighter. Expect lots of harsh word and dubious tactics. In all this, political operators shouldn’t forget that real people’s lives are impacted by events like terror attacks. Politicians from all sides need to think about their actions before trying to gain political points.

Social Media – A force for good?

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, November 22nd, 2019 - 8 comments

Nick Kelly on the role of social media in the UK election.

Austerity – who should pay for the financial crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, November 17th, 2019 - 30 comments

Nick Kelly on UK austerity and who should have paid for the financial crisis. 

The UK General Election

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, November 4th, 2019 - 10 comments

 

Nick Kelly is a form NZ trade unionist and NZ Labour activist. He is a co director of Piko Consulting, and currently lives in London expanding Piko into the UK. The below was originally published on Nick Kelly’s blog

 

 

Litigation and equal pay – a history of the 1950’s equal pay campaign

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, August 28th, 2018 - 3 comments

Forward In 2016 I wrote the below dissertation as part of my History Honours degree at Victoria University.  This dissertation explores the 1950s equal pay campaign, and specifically looks at the Jean Parker Case. Jean Parker was a PSA member employed at IRD, who like Kristine Bartlett 60 years later, won a landmark equal pay legal […]

Antisemitism, Islamophobia and the sad state of politics

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, August 9th, 2018 - 68 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly Blog

Skepta remix – Tory Magic Money Tree

Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, June 18th, 2017 - 1 comment

A little bit of UK political parody grime…

Anti-Corbyn media bias

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 pm, July 19th, 2016 - 77 comments

“When a democracy cannot rely on its press to provide its citizens with information about political parties that meets the basic standards of fairness, then we can expect a political process that is equally unbalanced.”

London School of Economics study.

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