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There have been plenty of dirtier elections than this one. Despite the Boris-Ken lift incident, and arguments over their tax arrangements, this mayoral race was squeaky clean by comparison to some previous election contests. The Bush family could teach us a thing or two about negative campaigning. Mudslinging has featured prominently in lots of Presidential races. In 1988, George H W Bush ...
London votes tomorrow. Here is our view on a likely win for Boris and what that means for the Coalition and Miliband. • Boris Johnson looks set to be re-elected Mayor of London, despite the Coalition’s recent omnishambolic performance • Turnout will be lower than in 2008, and the result could be closer than the 2008 result (Boris 53:Ken 47) • Labour will do better in the London Assembly...
Until today, George Osborne’s set pieces have all been about the deficit and spending cuts. The Emergency Budget right after the election, the Spending Review, and last year’s Budget were all dominated by red ink and shrinking budgets. Today’s Budget, by contrast, was all about tax – but the deficit is still massive, spending cuts are only just beginning, and strong growth is still some wa...
A great article in Public Affairs News this month, quoting Dermot Finch, our head of public affairs. Read the main article below or click here for a PDF of the full feature. When it comes to social media, Twitter remains the default channel for PA professionals and parliamentarians. And this shows no sign of changing any time soon, finds Adam Hill. Social media is not without its pitfalls, ...
The Chancellor just gave us a lot of bad news, especially about the New Year. As expected, the Office for Budget Responsibility has delivered a much weaker outlook for next year and beyond. Osborne has responded with a volley of growth measures, but with the eurozone on the edge, things could get even worse before they get better. Click here to read our briefing
Summary • The Budget will be something of a sideshow this year, overshadowed by the imminent and severe spending cuts starting in April. • The Chancellor needs to regain the agenda, after a series of Coalition U-turns and wobbles on specific cuts. • Growth over 2010 likely to be revised down from 1.8%, after a disappointing Q4. Total 2010/11 deficit will be a bit lower, after better ta...
The Coalition has changed not just politics and policy, but the rules of the public affairs game too. Politics and policymaking are already very different under the Coalition. Public affairs at Fishburn Hedges is responding by becoming even more "content-driven". Here's what I mean. In the pre-Coalition days, it was much easier to engage with and influence central government. Constant one...
