UK Politics
The end of Ken
Why this blog writer and London resident is not surprised by polls indicating Boris Johnson is hot favourite to be his city’s next mayor
UK Youth Parliament
Politics has never been my forte but I just wanted to give a heads up on this since most of you should be young (18 or under) enough to contribute:
Voting has now opened to decide the UK Youth Parliament’s three national campaigns for the year ahead. Below is a list of campaign ideas.
You have one week to vote, so please have a look at the campaign ideas and cast your vote for the campaign which is most important to you.
To vote, go to: http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=383
read more...»Brown eggs: pick of the papers
Continuing the theme from earlier this week about Gordon Brown, the focus here is on two excellent articles from this weekend’s Observer
read more...»Labour lists its greatest achievements since 1997
An interesting post on the Labour Party blog, which attempts to list Labour’s “50 Greatest Achievements”. As might be expected, the list has generated much criticism and support in the blogosphere
read more...»Scottish Parliament free resources
Scottish Parliament: free stuff
John Harris in the Guardian comments on the implications of the current Conservative leader’s views on the state of the union and it reminded me that there is a stack of useful resources available via the Scottish Parliament website.
Harris writes
Edinburgh was treated to a visit a couple of weeks ago by David Cameron. Ignoring clear signs of a rapprochement between the Tories and the SNP, he strayed close to politely telling the Scots off, bemoaning “the stain of separatism seeping through the union flag”.
If the Conservatives win the next Westminster election, political logic would push things in one of two directions: towards an autonomy at the outer reaches of what Scots politicos call “devolution max”, or full-blown secession. As Cameron’s turn in Edinburgh proved, the latter prospect is obviously causing Tories hair-raising disquiet.
If the “devolution max” option was pursued - possibly in tandem with a Tory-led scaling-down of Scottish representation in the Commons - the resulting tensions might just about be managed. The advent of a Cameron government could conceivably give the Scottish Labour party a new tactical freedom, and revive its fortunes at the SNP’s expense. But even then, separation could prove to be only one watershed move away. Imagine, for example, Cameron lending British support to another US-led military action, the Scots taking the same bitter umbrage as they have over Iraq, and the nationalists seizing their chance.
See the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2232244,00.html
Download a colour poster illustrating the composition of the Holyrood assembly – ideal for electoral systems: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/education/resources/teachingResources/wallChart.htm
A poster of this can be ordered free here: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/education/contact/index.htm
Lots of other resources can be found here: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/education/resources/teachingResources/index.htm
