Election must reads: Evening edition

May 5, 2010 5:25 pm by FT

London: the key seats – The Guardian
EU warns on UK deficit – Politics Home
Lib Dems squezed on both sides – The Times
Nerd wars over the result – Chris Giles for FT Money Supply
He has his faults, but my God you have to admire GB depth and resilience – Alastair Campbell
Gordon’s fighting talk - Jon Craig on Sky
Labour jittery in Scotland - The Guardian
Why isn’t Dave 15 points ahead? - Norman Tebbit in The Telegraph Read more

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Posted in Further reading |

Election morning briefing

May 5, 2010 9:37 am by FT

Cuts won’t trigger social unrest – George Osborne, FT
Which pledge will Cameron break first? - Gideon Rachman, FT
Brown’s legacy: no more Labour majorities – Donald Macintyre, The Independent
Honest Nick and his Lib Dem stardust – Jonathan Freedland, Guardian
Cameron in danger of pulling Queen into politics – The Guardian
Even though there are no constitutional rules – Ruth Fox, The Guardian
How has your region changed since 2005? - Political Betting
Agent Ashdown’s dead letter drop – Paul Waugh Read more

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Posted in Further reading |

FT election panel podcast

May 4, 2010 11:25 am by FT

Our expert election panel will meet for the final time on Friday afternoon for a video election debriefing. See the full list in the UK election podcast archive. Read more

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Labour candidate brands Brown ‘worst PM’ in history

May 4, 2010 11:04 am by FT

If coming third in the polls and a seemingly collapsing campaign strategy wasn’t causing enough stress within the Labour party, a Labour parliamentary candidate from North west Norfolk has called Gordon Brown “the worst prime minister we have had in this country”.

According to the Lynn News newspaper, Manish Sood, who is contesting a Tory-held seat, said: “I believe Gordon Brown has been the worst prime minister we have had in this country … It is a disgrace and he owes an apology to the people and the Queen.” Read more

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Posted in Labour, Recession, UK economy, UK politics |

Bank holiday election briefing

May 3, 2010 12:35 pm by FT

Cameron details policies before final push - The FT
A lament for the loss of electoral rituals – Matthew Engel for the FT
Your election is pure – but who would want to win it? - The Guardian
Office has rotted Labour, but it doesn’t deserve to die – Jackie Ashley for the Guardian
I want The West Wing, not The Office politics - Camilla Cavendish for the Times
Brown is a goner – bring on Mandelson - Boris Johnson for the Telegraph
Cameron could be our de Gaulle - Bruce Anderson for the Independent
Clegg’s journey to the promised land – The Independent Read more

Posted in Further reading |

Armchair Election: The Heckler

May 1, 2010 3:00 pm by FT

The FT’s Robert Shrimsley joined Clive Anderson for the BBC’s weekly election show, The Heckler.  Click here for a link to the broadcast, which is a quirky, irreverent guide to this week’s events in the general election campaign. What the politicians really think of the voters they have to woo and flatter, and if we do get a hung parliament, will our leaders be simply too exhausted by all that campaigning to thrash out a deal to run the country? Read more

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Clegg & Co

May 1, 2010 12:02 pm by FT

Explore the FT’s new interactive graphic featuring profiles of the Lib Dem leader, his shadow cabinet and most trusted colleagues – and a sorting function to show how they are all connected. And if you missed it, the Tory Who’s Who also has full details of the Conservative shadow cabinet and the party’s behind-the-scenes strategists. Read more

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Posted in Lib Dems, Nick Clegg |

Must reads: Evening edition

April 29, 2010 5:30 pm by FT

Who should govern Britain, The Economist thinks it’s David Cameron
Ten People Who Are Having a Good Election – Iain Dale
After all the fuss of yesterday, it is still the economy, stupid – Alastair Campbell
Opinion split on Bigotgate significance, says Sun/YouGov poll – The Guardian
Brown campaigns after ‘bigot’ row – Politics Home
Mervyn King: Election winner will lose power for 30 years – Evening Standard
British Leaders Brace for Final Television Debate – New York Times

Jim and Alex will be doing another live blog tonight for the final televised leaders’ debate, which will focus on the economy. This time the event starts at 8:30pm on the BBC. Our rolling commentary will probably start earlier, from around 7pm. Read more

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Posted in Further reading |

Expert panel: Labour has three days to save itself

April 27, 2010 5:11 pm by FT

The FT’s expert election panel will occasionally be giving their thoughts on the big news stories of the campaign. Below is Matthew Taylor’s take on how Labour can – and must- rejuvenate the policy agenda.

Matthew Taylor, former director of policy to Tony Blair:
If Labour trails in a bad third next week, a divided, demoralised and impoverished Party could easily go into a long term decline, becoming a Party whose highest realistic aspiration is to a be a minority partner in a future coalition.

Finally, today it looks like policy is on the agenda. Labour has to keep it there until the debate on Thursday and then hope that Gordon Brown can win on home territory (there are, after all, still many voters who do not warm to Brown but will on probing agree he is the best on experience and on protecting the interests of ordinary families). With a little wind in its sails Labour might yet breach the 30 per cent barrier within sight of being the largest party. This would change the dynamic of the last week. Read more

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Posted in UK politics |

Election must reads: Weekend edition

April 25, 2010 11:45 am by FT

Leader interviews:
David Cameron leaves door open for poll deal with Lib Dems – The Observer
Nick Clegg: I will not prop up ‘irrelevant’ Brown – The Sunday Times
Gordon Brown: My Credo – The Independent

On the election:
Voters keep the Tories waiting at the altar – Matthew Engel in the FT
Lib Dem star delighted to be outshone – The FT
The doubts about the Lib Dems – The FT
 Polls show Tories ahead in six – Politics Home
Grotesque and unfair voting system must change – Will Hutton for the Observer
Nick Clegg is still ahead … but he’s beginning to grate – The Sunday Times
Brown rejects Mandelson’s cosy stitch-up – Janet Daley for the Sunday Telegraph
The long sprint to Westminster – The Independent
Election 1940 and no Thatcher? – Hopi Sen
Video: Nick Clegg on Andrew Marr Read more

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Posted in Further reading |

Armchair election: The Heckler

April 24, 2010 4:22 pm by FT

The FT’s Robert Shrimsley joined Clive Anderson for the BBC’s weekly election show, The Heckler.  Click here for a link to the broadcast, which is a quirky, irreverent guide to this week’s events in the general election campaign. Is positive the new negative? How have all the main parties taken to rebuking the others for “squabbling” – or debating policy, as it used to be called? Read more

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How traditional media has failed the election

April 23, 2010 4:34 pm by FT

By John Lloyd

“Reporters do of course write stories about political life in the broader sense and about the substance of issues … but when there is a chance to use these issues as props or raw material for a story about political tactics, most reporters leap at it. It is more fun … in fact they ask questions that only their fellow political professionals care about. And they often do so with a discourtesy and rancour that represent the public’s views much less than they reflect the modern journalist’s belief that being independent boils down to acting hostile.”

The US journalist James Fallows wrote this in The Atlantic in 1996. In the 2010 UK general election, it’s truer than it was.

The Economist wrote today that the mainstream media – newspapers, radio and television – dominate news and comment on the election, almost to the exclusion of significant use of the internet. Let’s hope for better next time, when the wealth of the internet can be brought to bear on electoral choice because the record of the mainstream media so far is dismal. Read more

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Posted in UK politics |
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