Archive for May, 2010


What have the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed? (1)

May 12th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

You can read the full text here.

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Are you feeling Browned off?

May 12th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I am – because I’m a lifelong Labour supporter and wanted a Labour Government or, failing that, a Labour/Lib Dem coalition if that was practical. In the event, Gordon Brown has gone as the country’s Prime Minister and as the Party’s leader. Already I’ve heard some of my Labour friends blaming this on Tony Blair. […]

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The options for British government

May 11th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Con-Dem-nation or a rainbow coaliition without Brown. You know my preference.

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The General Election analysed

May 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Now that the dust has settled on the most fascinating British General Election in a generation, what is the outcome? In terms of seats and votes won, the result was as follows: Conservative Party: 306 seats (up 97) with a voting share of 36.1% (up 3.8%) Labour Party: 258 seats (down 91) with a voting […]

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The Lib Dem triple lock

May 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Following the UK General Election which resulted in a hung Parliament, before there can be any special agreement between the Liberal Democrats and either the Conservatives or Labour, the Lib Dems have to address their so-called ‘triple lock’. What is this? Established by the party in 1998 – when talk of an arrangement between Paddy […]

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Election results in my locality

May 8th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Like everyone in Britain, I’m waiting to see what sort of government the country will have for the next few months, if not years. Like most Labour supporters, I’m hoping that we might yet see a Labour-Liberal coalition government. Meanwhile, as a Labour supporter, my gloom at the national result is tempered by some fantastic […]

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China trip (5): Chengdu

May 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I’ve now written up for my web site an account of the fifth and final stage of our three-week trip to China. This covers our time in Chengdu plus some overall observations and you can read it here.

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The Mick Jagger election

May 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

A few results are still awaited in the UK’s General Election 2010 but the broad contours are now clear. I think that my old friend Professor Peter Hennessy had it right on BBC television when he called this “the Mick Jagger election” since almost all the political parties can’t get no satisfaction. The Conservatives have […]

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Where there’s no election

May 6th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Here in the UK, we have a General election today as we elect a new House of Commons. The House of Commons previously had 646 seats which increases to 650 seats at this General Election (the number varies slightly from time to time to reflect population change). However, today there is voting in 649 seats […]

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Four votes and four hours

May 6th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Here in the UK, it’s election day and I’ve cast four votes for the Labour Party – one in the General Election and three in the London Borough elections. Also I’ve spent four hours as a teller on a polling station in my Parliamentary constituency of Brent North. The sun was out and voters streamed […]

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