Young people led surge for smaller parties but no Reform ‘youthquake’, says UK election survey: One of the defining features of contemporary electoral politics in Britain is the age divide. Young people are far more likely to support Labour, and older people to support the Conservatives. This divide is still apparent following the 2024 election …
University funding is in crisis – and none of the political parties have a clear plan to fix it: EF Stock/Shutterstock The past 14 years of Conservative-led government have, in many ways, been a successful period for the UK’s universities. Student numbers have increased by 12% to 2.9 million. Real terms income has grown by …
Work Christmas parties: know your rights so things don’t go wrong at your office do: Cookie Studio/Shutterstock Back in 2000, financial publisher Bloomberg blew a reported £1 million on an office party with a “seven deadly sins” theme for its 1,500 British employees. As well as a “lust room” containing a 25-foot-wide bed of purple …
Nostalgia in politics: pan-European study sheds light on how (and why) parties appeal to the past in their election campaigns: Unsplash/Jon Tyson, CC BY Have you ever felt nostalgic when thinking about the past? Then you are not alone. According to survey research, around two-thirds of the European public feel nostalgic. Nostalgia is defined as …
How 1920s high society fashion pushed gender boundaries through ‘freaking’ parties: First panel of The Freak Merchants or, the Bright Young People by Arthur Wallis Mills, published in Punch (1930). Courtesy of Keele University The 1920s brought about a rise in androgynous fashion among a high society set that broke boundaries and caused controversy. This …
Kenya’s political elites switch parties with every election – how this fuels violence: Supporters at the launch of the Jubilee Party manifesto in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 2017. Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images Barely seven months after leaving office, Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta is battling to keep together the party that won him a …
Namibia and South Africa’s ruling parties share a heroic history – but their 2024 electoral prospects look weak: Presidents Hage Geingob, left, and Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Tshwane. GCIS Namibian president Hage Geingob used his recent state visit to South Africa to also address a meeting of the national executive committee of …
For diamonds, disguises and bears, the Met Gala has nothing on Georgian masquerade parties: A large, white cat with dazzling light blue eyes appeared on the red carpet of this year’s Met Gala. It struck several playful poses, paying homage to the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and his beloved cat, Choupette. Photographers snapped away …
South Africa votes in 2024: could a coalition between major parties ANC and EFF run the country?: Supporters of the opposition EFF carry a mock coffin bearing the face of the President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the ruling ANC. Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images. South Africa’s 2024 national and provincial elections are regarded …
Peter Obi could be the force that topples Nigeria’s two main political parties: Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi looks on during a party campaign rally in Lagos. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images Obi-dient is the word in town for the Nigerians who support Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria. …
Ghana’s Nkrumahist parties keep splitting – a threat to their strength in the 2024 election: Kwame Nkrumah's political legacy is struggling to stay afloat in Ghana. Wikimedia Commons/Flickr Political parties are not always completely united, as most classical political scientists argue. Dissenting opinions and the scramble for party apparatus tend to trigger internal schisms and …
Swedish election: triumph for the nationalist right leaves establishment parties in a quandary: The nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are the major gainers of the 2022 Swedish national elections. Votes are still being counted but preliminary results show the party has gained 3.1%. This makes it the second largest party in Sweden, trailing only the the …
Hungary: election triumph for Viktor Orbán is a warning to progressive parties seeking a marriage of convenience with the far right: Hungary’s ultra-conservative prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has preserved his two-thirds super majority in the country’s parliamentary elections. Orbán faced a coalition of six major opposition parties, who made the historic decision to run together …
Why South African political parties must find a balance between rural versus metro support: Mxolisi Kaunda mayor of eThekwini. If parties or individuals succeed in the politics and practicalities of governing a metro, the rewards are considerable. Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images The trouble with metropolitan cities, or metros, is that, even in the …
South Africa’s ANC dips below 50%. But opposition parties fail to pick up the slack: South Africans queue to vote in the 2021 local government elections in Centurion, Tshwane, Pretoria. GCIS/Flickr South Africa’s 2021 local government elections were momentous. They mark the first time that the now ruling party and erstwhile liberation movement, the African …
Germany election: Olaf Scholz’s social democrats come out on top but smaller parties hold the key to government: Election night in Germany proved inconclusive. There were some clear winners and losers, but not such that we can be sure of the shape of the next German government. The social democratic SPD came out on top, …
South Africa in the news: Calls for unity, arts and culture, land by parties this Heritage Day: The DA, IFP and Good Party have called for unity as the country marks Heritage Day. This is at the time parties were gearing up for a political battle ahead of the local government elections in …: “South …
High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins: For politicians and pundits, the death of the British high street has long been a refrain. The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards online shopping. In its recently published “levelling-up” plan for post-pandemic recovery, the UK government sets the context for its …