General Election 2015 – Britain’s Evolving Multi-Party System(s) Throughout the short campaign, this blog will publish a series of posts that focus on each of the electoral regions in the UK. In this post, Jack Blumenau and Simon Hix discuss the overall picture of party competition across these different regions. They show that different regions face different constellations of competitive parties, and that there has been a steady increase in party fragmentation across regions over time. The decline in support for Britain’s two traditional parties over the past two decades is now common knowledge. Over 90% of people voted either Conservative or Labour in the 1950s, yet less than two-thirds voted for these two parties in 2010 and perhaps even fewer will support them in May 2015.
Well, not quite. To illustrate how party competition has evolved below the national level, the next figure shows the effective number of parties in each region between 1997 and the likely outcome in 2015 (based on the latest forecast from electionforecast.co.uk). Trends in political participation in the uk. Power Inquiry Executive Summary. Pressure group advocating BREXIT. Comments (1) The UK should leave the European Union unless fundamental reforms are secured by David Cameron in his renegotiation process, a major report by a pressure group has concluded. The Business for Britain group’s report concluded that the current terms of the UK’s membership are “unacceptable” and holding the country back.
The group’s 1,032 page document found that the amount the UK got back from the EU was just 49p from every £1 paid into Brussels coffers since the eurozone crisis began in 2009 and claimed that the country’s influence in European institutions was declining. Business for Britain’s chief executive Matthew Elliott said: “Britain would be better placed to attract investment and cut harmful regulations if it had a looser relationship with the EU, and it would also be better protected from a eurozone that will either fully integrate or disintegrate. “The current terms of membership are unacceptable and are only going to get worse,” the report said. Council blocks Little Plumpton fracking application. An application to start fracking at a site on the Fylde coast in Lancashire has been rejected by councillors. Energy firm Cuadrilla wanted to extract shale gas at the Little Plumpton site between Preston and Blackpool.
Lancashire County Council rejected the bid on the grounds of "unacceptable noise impact" and the "adverse urbanising effect on the landscape". Cuadrilla said it was "surprised and disappointed" and would consider its "options" regarding an appeal. A spokesman added: "We remain committed to the responsible exploration of the huge quantity of natural gas locked up in the shale rock deep underneath Lancashire.
" 'Triumph for democracy' The Little Plumpton bid had been recommended for approval by the county council's planning officials, subject to working hours, noise control and highway matters. But councillors rejected the advice and voted 10-4 to refuse the application. He said the committee had rejected the application after "listening carefully to many hours of evidence". Juniors Doctors Protests. This is an excellent story for those about to begin the study of Pressure Groups in the UK. The row over junior doctors’ pay has been going on for a while, bouncing back and forth between the Health Department and the BMA. However, focussing on the events of the last two weeks, it is a tour de force in the theory of this topic. Firstly, in mid-October, around 20,000 protesters marched through London campaigning against the proposals from Jeremy Hunt at the Department of Health.
Usually, groups organising such mass marches hope to achieve change by gaining attention for their cause – by having such a weight of public opinion showing up, this should gain publicity and the idea is that the government will then have to listen. Coupled with this however are excellent examples of how else pressure groups can act. What is most important about this story is that it could be used as a rare example of pressure group success. Like this: Like Loading... Anti-austerity protest: 'David Cameron is a robot made of ham' and other brilliant banners from the march - UK - News. The march, believed to be the largest since the election of the Conservative government in May, was organised by the People’s Assembly. Russell Brand, Charlotte Church and Caroline Lucas will address the gathered crowds, with Guardian journalist Owen Jones already speaking. The demonstration will draw attention to the cuts - some already implented and some in planning - with an especial focus on homelessness, inequality and child poverty.
Social media has been flooded by images and vines of the protesters. We collected our favourite banners so far: Letting dolphins govern has got to be one of the more unusual banners of the day: So this one isn't exactly a 'banner' but we couldn't help but want to include it: And, obviously, no march would be a protest without some Mean Girls inspired banners: (These are probably our favourites.) These images also show the humour on the march.