Election 2007

The Scottish Parliamentary constituencies of Falkirk West and Falkirk East, both within my UK constituency of Falkirk, wrapped at 0700 Friday. A poorly designed ballot paper leading to over 1200 spoils could just about have affected the results; an interesting detail, but no more than that now. The quite literally stunning fact is that Falkirk West, formerly 'Independent' Dennis Canavan's unusual seat, is now an SNP-held constituency and the SNP ... read more

There is an old anarchist saying – if voting changed anything, they’d abolish it. At the count for the Scottish parliamentary and council elections on Thursday, it seemed like they had.

Several counts were delayed, three of the eight regions were unable to give a result by Friday afternoon and thousands upon thousands of ballots were declared spoiled. Watching the results at the Edinburgh count – I was standing ... read more

It's the afternoon after and results are still coming through thick and fast, so - between now slightly drooping eyelids - how does it look for the Liberal Democrats so far?

Taking the four yardsticks I blogged about on Wednesday, the scorecard looks like this so far.

First - Scotland. It looks like our vote is up, but we won't be gaining seats, and there is also a similar picture ... read more

Labour have done a fantastic job of governing the City of Lincoln for more than 25 years. Anyone who is in a position to compare the City as it is now, with the place it was in the early 1980's, will know the transformation which has taken place under Labour leadership.

Labour energetically tackled the economic decline resulting from the loss of the City's traditional manufacturing base and with an ... read more

THANKS to a substantial caffeine boost courtesy of Costa coffee, I'm managing to keep my eyes open just long enough to post this entry.

It was quite a long night, much longer than most of us in the press room anticipated. Our sweep stake predictions for the finishing time were way off the mark.

On the whole, it wasn't the disaster many - including Labour members themselves - were predicting ... read more

The most notable part of the Welsh Assembly election campaign so far is the exceptionally good weather. Canvassers have reported a good natured reception from electors basking in the sun, alas many of these voters still remain undecided as to how they will vote, if they vote at all, and a number have expressed a level of confusion as to what we all stand for. A confusion that is only ... read more

"I tell you one thing, I’m not voting Labour again."

At the beginning of the campaign, I should have decided to take a dictaphone with me to record the number of times I’ve heard people say this to me on the streets of South Wales. There is anger in their voices as they are forced to admit that the Labour Party is ‘not what it used to be.’ From Tony ... read more

Today is a rite of passage for me—not because it'll be my first vote in Scottish election, but because it'll see my first spoiled ballot. I've organised a postal vote for the occasion, so as to register maximum discontent. There's something pleasingly absurd about going to the trouble of having ballot papers sent to me for spoiling, but I've now at last reached the point where I just don't feel ... read more

YOU might not be aware of the secretive election taking place at the moment. The Welsh one, that is, not that in Nigeria. Most aren't. Least not in Wales itself.

Because in the wake of the possible ramifications of an SNP victory in the Scottish election, the poll that will decide the make-up of the currently Labour-run Welsh Assembly has pretty much passed by unremarked.The attitude towards Welsh devolution ... read more

Green politics in Scotland have come a long way in the last ten years - then, we had no-one elected to anything, and now we’re going into today's election holding 7 seats out of 129.

The group we got elected last time have proved themselves very capable, even though four years ago many of them had no idea they were about to become parliamentarians. We’re also the only ... read more

Extraordinarily exciting times in Scotland. I was born in 1980, and as one of Thatcher’s children, it was considered quite something when New Labour shot to power in 1997, giving my generation a government other than a Tory one for the first time in our lives.

As a Scot, we’ve actually been in a one-party state for longer. Scottish Labour have exercised power not just in the post-devolution ... read more

What is it with Labour leaders and announcing retirement dates? Hot on the heels of Blair’s decision that he would not serve a full third term, Rhodri Morgan announced that his preference would be to go in 2009, around halfway through the third National Assembly.

Saying when you intend leaving is never a good thing for a political leader as Blair has found out. It inevitably erodes authority and creates ... read more