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By Andrew Pakes With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico now within touching distance of Florida, the BP disaster speaks to a larger story of private enterprise and our thirst for precious resources. By opening up opportunities and reducing…
The Paul Richards colum I am close to deadline for my new book, which you can pre-order from Amazon here. I don't suppose it will sell as well as The Third Man, Peter Mandelson's memoir, and certainly not as well as The Journey by Tony…
By James Gray You didn't have David Cameron down as a radical constitutional reformer, did you? Don't let the stubborn opposition to electoral reform or support of hereditary peers fool you. According to senior Tory sources, Cameron wants…
By Brian Barder / @BrianLB Much of the current speculation about what the Lib Dems will do if the election on May 6th returns a hung parliament is based on a misunderstanding of how the system now works. There's particular confusion over…
By Pam Giddy 13 years ago Labour swept to power promising "New Labour, New Britain". Transformation of our constitution was a major plank of the commitments undertaken, and while devolution, freedom of information and the Human Rights Act…
By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * Jack Straw's plans for a wholly elected upper chamber to replace the House of Lords appear to have been blocked by members of the cabinet - led by Peter Mandelson, according to reports. * The PM last night…
By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 Housing minister John Healey has just announced a "far reaching and radical new deal" on housing, setting out plans to offer local authorities the freedom to fund and run their council stocks without central…
By Stuart MacLennan / @StuartMacLennan Within the next year the Scottish Parliament will vote on the SNP's Bill to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence. Barring any sudden change of heart by one of the other parties it is highly…
By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 The Sunday Telegraph has the story that Jack Straw is to discuss with cabinet plans to include a move towards a fully elected, 300-member strong second chamber. The Telegraph says: "Under the government's…
By Pam Giddy 26 Bishops sit in the House of Lords as of right. They've been there since the time of Henry VIII and show very little sign of moving - a constitutional set-up that leaves us in the inglorious company of Iran, and very few…
By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * MPs last night voted 365 to 187 in favour of a referendum on changing the voting system to AV. * David Miliband has called for a wider "reset referendum" to ask voters to give a view on how representatives…
By Sam Bacon / @SamBaconSam Looking at the 2005 general election map at the start of the animation by Philip Palfrey of the University of Sheffield (right) there are two startling visual traits. The first is that from the 2005 general…
