• The Big Student General Election Debate

    On Friday 2nd June, the four political parties at the University of Nottingham, the Lib Dems, Labour, the Conservatives and the Greens, when head-to-head, in a Question Time-styled debate in front of an audience of students. The structure consisted of opening statements, followed by panel and audience questions. Here...
  • The Rise of Syriza: What are the Consequences for the Left?

    Syriza has waltzed into power in Greece, now commanding nearly half the seats in the Greek parliament. A country fuelled on the woes of the economic and social crises of the Eurozone, it should be of no surprise that the electorate in Greece voted in a party that has...
  • The Student Swing Vote: are we, the student electorate, more powerful than we think?

    The political landscape is, frankly, muddled. The three big parties are widely distrusted; nationalists such as the SNP are the dominant force in devolved Britain; and the new political force of UKIP has won back-to-back by-elections. This is not to mention that opinion polls place Labour and Conservatives on...
  • UKIP by-election victory: an anomaly or turning point? a student perspective

    Douglas Carswell MP, riding high on securing 60% of the vote in the recent Clacton-on-Sea by-election, has boldly claimed that UKIP has ‘nothing that we cannot achieve’. Echoing the sentiments of the famous medieval heretic John Wycliffe, ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’, Carswell clearly...
  • Politics’ male focus is excluding greens from tv debates

    It’s the buildup to the 2015 general election and Big Questions are beginning to fly around. For me, one which particularly needs answering is this – why on earth has Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP, been given a place to speak at the televised leaders debates before next...
  • Parties and their policies: conference season 2014

    As national elections are fast approaching, the main political parties are stepping up their campaigns. Currently it’s conference season – and conferences matter. In 2015 a new parliament will emerge, and clues as to which party it may be can be found in the party conferences. However, what impact...