Well, it happened. Not quite as anyone had been expecting, but it happened. The moment we’ve dreaded for the last three years. David Cameron is the new Prime Minister. I can’t say I will be sorry to see Brown go. I can’t say New Labour didn’t deserve to lose this election. I can say I [...]
Now that Brown’s promised to step down, it’s looking increasingly plausible that our next government will be a centre-left coalition of some kind. No doubt if this actually happens the rightwing press will go into a frenzy about how illegitimate and unfair it is for the Tories not to get into Government, but they can [...]
Well the election is over, the dust is settling, back-room deals are being made to find new ways to screw the country over, you’ve forgotten your towel and things are looking grim. DON’T PANIC! It’s not as bad as it seems. Across the lefty web, journalists and bloggers are taking stock of their situation, looking [...]
Politicians keep going on the radio saying that we shouldn’t be talking about political process, but the economy. They’re telling us not to worry our silly little heads over big boy politics (like electoral reform), and even saying that business is more important than democracy. The few hundred people who were denied their vote despite [...]
It’s been a dark, dark night thus far. But the election of Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavillion as the country’s first ever Green MP is fantastic news. With any luck, this will lead to future successes for the Greens. A true radical and an excellent MP has been returned to Parliament. Congratulations Caroline! www.salmanshaheen.com
OK, this’ll probably go one of two ways now. Either the Tories will get a really narrow majority, or they’ll come damn close to it. My hunch, though, is that in the latter event they’ll go ahead and form a minority government anyway – the Lib Dems and Labour don’t look like they’ve done anywhere [...]
In Cameron’s constituency victory speech he said the Tories were on course to have the most seats “in eighty years”. Eighty years ago there was um…a Labour minority government. A few years before that the Tories did have a big majority, but not as big as much more recently, in 1983. So what the crap [...]
Just now I spoke to Trade Union and Socialist coaition candidate Jenny Sutton. She was in high spirits. “David Lammy’s gonna win” she said, “but we’ve won alot of hearts and minds”. “What this campaign has done is put him under pressure and its shown local people that there is alternative to the market and [...]
As things stand there’s a big(ish) swing to the Tories in every region of Britain, apart from Scotland where they’re pretty much nowhere and there’s actually a slight swing in favour of Labour and against the SNP. If this is what things still look like and the Tories haven’t made any gains North of the [...]
Gordon Brown has won his seat. But I’ve never heard a victory speech that sounds so much like a defeat. Expect a by-election here soon. www.salmanshaheen.com
