• The results are in: What do they mean?

    The results are in: What do they mean?

    As the results come in across the UK there are a number of headlines from the collapse of the Liberal Democrats to the rise of the SNP to the growth in votes for UKIP but with little electoral success. As with every election night the stories and speculation focuses on the individuals. So there is…

  • The formal campaign is nearly over but what happens next matters more

    The formal campaign is nearly over but what happens next matters more

    As the General Election comes to a close, the speculation on what happens next is starting to seem much more important than what has been going on for the last six weeks. We have seen, as I have been arguing through these election blogs, at least three different campaign. From the media’s point of view…

  • Under the radar conversations

    Under the radar conversations

    I have been struck by the growing gap between the election campaign as it appears in the media and the conversations and discussions I am having through my work with community based organisations and residents. Over the past two weeks I have sat and listened to people talk about their voluntary work in a community…

  • As the TV Election dominates, what are the local issues?

    As the TV Election dominates, what are the local issues?

    The TV election debate is , as to be expected, shaped and defined by the personalities and the ‘incidents’ as interpreted by the media commentators. And, of course, the political leaders (to a greater or lesser extent) play up to this. But at a local level there is another election campaign taking place. It seems…

  • What about the issues that don’t figure in the election campaign, but matter ?

    What about the issues that don’t figure in the election campaign, but matter ?

    The ways in which the formal election campaign and its associated conversations miss out the issues that touch most people, are ones I will come back to over the coming weeks. It’s important to start though by recognising that the shared conversations between the politicians and the media rule out a whole series of voices…

  • Why we need a different ‘conversation’ before May 7

    Why we need a different ‘conversation’ before May 7

    As the General Election campaign shifts into a different gear – the wall to wall coverage, the on / off TV debates , the post debate analysis and the stage managed events in local high streets for the cameras  – the gap between the politicians and their reference group and the rest of the country…

  • Why we are missing out on a genuine political conversation?

    Why we are missing out on a genuine political conversation?

    Over the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to sit and listen to ‘real’ people talk about their hopes and aspirations as well as their anxieties and fears. Their voices, as opposed to those which we hear on the news or indeed those that we engage in at conferences or workshops, provide a…

  • Why changing how public services are run and financed is off the agenda

    Why changing how public services are run and financed is off the agenda

    How public services are funded and how they are run have been two central questions to dominate news and political conversations. The scale of problems associated with the NHS, from the crisis in A&E to the scandals revealed in the Francis Report in Staffordshire, have all been about money and staffing. And yet, as the…

  • Why policy matters and why we need to talk about it more

    Why policy matters and why we need to talk about it more

    The General Election campaign, not formally announced but underway,is being dominated by the personalities (or lack of). So it matters that the Green Leader had a difficult interview or that senior MPs can offer to trade their services for £5,000 a day but that other (potentially more significant things) issues can be ignored or missed altogether.…

  • Why the public realm still matters

    Why the public realm still matters

     The idea of the ‘public realm’ is one which is unlikely to grab everyone’s attention. But it captures an important set of ideas and they are ones we tend to take for granted. At its heart is the simple proposition that the health of a good society can be seen through its commitment to shared…