Briefings
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Northern Ireland
What’s at stake in Northern Ireland in this election? For Remainers, it’s a chance to turn the tables on the DUP, which has been enjoying its moment in the sun, propping up the Tories.
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Civil servants
Civil servants are those who are employed by ‘the Crown’. This usually means that they work in government departments and are employed by government ministers. But what do they actually do?
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The Conservative manifesto
The Conservatives will “get Brexit done” and “forge a new Britain”, said Boris Johnson, launching his manifesto. He promised 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments.
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The Labour manifesto
Labour says it has a manifesto to change the face of Britain. Its plans to expand the public sector, rearrange the constitution and reduce inequality are certainly radical. Could they work?
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The Liberal Democrat manifesto
The Liberal Democrats hope to repeat the trick the Scottish Nationalists managed after the independence referendum, when they captured most of the ‘yes’ vote and all but wiped out Labour.
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The Green manifesto
The Green Party has launched its election manifesto with a pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions in the UK by 2030, and invest £100 billion a year by 2030 as part of a “Green New Deal”.
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Nationalisation
The great nationalisation debate has dominated recent days. Labour is promising a number of state takeovers, including broadband, and has accused the Tories of wanting to sell off the NHS.
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Four elections in one
Is the UK having one general election or four very different elections? Politics in Northern Ireland has always been different. But, recently, England, Scotland and Wales have also diverged.
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Tactical voting
Nigel Farage, yesterday, claimed that tactical voting will decide the election — and the internet is buzzing with advice. What is tactical voting? And how much difference could it make?
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Education
All the main parties pledge to increase funding for education — but with radically different plans for how they would spend the money. It is set to be one of the main issues of the election.
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Defence spending
UK defence spending is just over £50 billion a year, or 6% of all public spending. So, not huge but contentious, as many believe the money would be better spent on health and welfare.
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The state of play
Two numbers hold the key to this election: 83% and 23%. The first is the combined Tory/Labour vote in 2017. The second is their combined vote in 2019. Can either party can get back to 2017?
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First past the post
The UK general election uses a “first-past-the-post” system, in which whoever gets the most votes in each constituency wins. This is widely criticised for producing unrepresentative results.
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The youth vote
In 2017, the surprisingly good showing by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was partly explained by many commentators as arising from a “youthquake”. Could that be happening again?
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Public spending
Yesterday, the starting pistol was fired on five weeks of election campaigning. Much of it will debate government spending, what it goes on, and where the money should come from.