Darren Jones selected as Labour’s candidate for Bristol North West

Ed Balls votes in the Commons dressed as Santa

This year (as every other year), Ed Balls was appearing as Santa in Parliament for the Christmas party for the children of MPs and parliamentary staff. But this year he went one step further – voting in the chamber dressed as Santa. Photo courtesy of Pamela Nash MP (she’s on the right)

Collins Review – opportunities to be seized and traps to be avoided

By James Plaskitt

Ray Collins has a tough assignment.  But, based on my consultations with party and trade union members across the West Midlands region over the last month, there are opportunities to be seized – as well as traps to be avoided. The risks are easily identified.  The party coffers may take a hit, as large trade union donations dwindle.  Too few trade unionists paying the levy will take up the membership offer.  The historic link between party and unions will weaken. […]

PMQs Verdict: Flat, flat flat

By Mark Ferguson

Ed Miliband and David Cameron both spoke in the Commons on Monday to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. They both then jumped on a flight to South Africa to attend his memorial service yesterday (selfies included) before flying back to do PMQs today. To be honest this might have been more enlightening if they’d dialed it in front South Africa, because they largely dialed it in from Westminster. This was flat, flat, flat. This was […]

Sun Political Editor reacts to Stella Creasy’s question on Page 3 by talking about her clothes

Today Stella Creasy used her question at PMQs to ask the PM if he would back the “No More Page 3″ campaign. This is how Tom Newton Dunn – Political Editor of the Sun – reacted to that. Stay classy Tom…

Where is the vision for a Digital Britain?

By Chi Onwurah

Digital Government without digital inclusion will be a return to a late 18th Century model of democracy within a narrow elite. The digital divide is growing, this Government’s abandonment of Labour’s Universal Broadband pledge, mishandling of Broadband rollout, and imposition of digital by default as a cost cutting rather than service improvement programme, together with growing economic inequality, the cost of living crisis  and the rise of Big Data and Cloud mean there is a real risk of a large disenfranchised and […]