The Northern Independence Party (NIP) may have begun life as a Twitter joke, but those still scoffing would do well to learn from recent history. Italy’s Five Star Movement erupted into political life on the back of a comedian’s blog, before flipping Italian politics on its head. The Brexit Party, founded in 2018, was a hollow shell but transformed British politics in the short time of its existence (it was renamed Reform UK in January 2021). Both were helped by money and, crucially, more representative electoral systems than first-past-the-post. But as Paolo Gerbaudo argues in his 2018 book
Digital Party, the combination of the increasing political prominence of social media and popular disaffection with the
The latest Scotland poll spells trouble for the Tories spectator.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectator.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
National Unity Through Silence
As 11 million people in the US State of Georgia take part in a (historic) election today, which, with any luck will hasten Donald trump’s ejection from the White House, Unionists in Britain have begun to try and undermine the idea of an election in May at Holyrood.
The Times editorialises with the interesting headline of “Vaccine over Vote”:
“Postpone this year’s Holyrood elections. Now is not a time for the distraction of political campaigning” it thunders – having first established (without any evidence) that:
“There is no realistic possibility of there being another referendum this year or next” The Times goes on to argue that: “just as the circumstances are not right for the staging of a second independence referendum, they might not be right for an election. Scots are due to go to the polls in May to select members of the Scottish parliament. Ms Sturgeon and all opposition leaders must now consider whether such a schedule i
Politics is about listening to peopleâs needs, not resorting to jargon and cliche
Blyth in north-east England on 13 December 2019, the day after the former mining town voted in a Conservative MP for the first time in its history. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP via Getty Images
Blyth in north-east England on 13 December 2019, the day after the former mining town voted in a Conservative MP for the first time in its history. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP via Getty Images
Sun 3 Jan 2021 02.30 EST
Last modified on Sun 3 Jan 2021 05.41 EST
What will the âred wallâ think? As Boris Johnson pivots from Covid-19 and Brexit towards his âlevelling upâ agenda, that is likely to be a key question in 2021.