India has had seven consecutive elections (1989 to 2009) in which no single party won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha, resulting in hung parliaments. In 1991, … Read the rest
Tag: Coalition
If you are a political scientist or a political historian or – like me – some hybrid of the two, you really should avoid predicting the future. That said, put … Read the rest
The media caravan has already moved on, but for the record here are five more observations about the boundaries vote, in increasing order of importance.
1. Not that it … Read the rest
Yesterday’s Commons vote on the electoral boundaries was a headache for the Conservative Party. The vote – an attempt to over-turn an amendment made in the House of Lords – … Read the rest
We’ve been producing end-of-session reports detailing the rebellions of government backbenchers for several years now – but we’ve never had to produce one quite so large before. The Bumper Book … Read the rest
In a confidential memo addressed to the Prime Minister, an adviser has argued that supporters of the government are ‘increasingly apathetic and disunited’ due to its failure to appeal to … Read the rest
On paper, it’s 76. Those with some knowledge of way Westminster works in practice will have remembered to add in the five non-sitting Sinn Fein MPs, plus the Speaker and … Read the rest
How similar is the current economic crisis to the one that hit the UK and the rest of the world before 1939? There have certainly been many comparisons between our … Read the rest
On 17th February 2010, the Coalition Government unveiled a bill that promised to bring about ‘the most radical shake-up of the welfare system for sixty years’. We’ve been here … Read the rest
How do MPs behave when faced with a coalition government? For all that behaviour in the House of Commons has changed over the post-war era – with MPs becoming more … Read the rest