• 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…

  • General Election 2015 is a great indictment of the Northern Ireland Peace Process

    General Election 2015 is a great indictment of the Northern Ireland Peace Process

    It had been hoped that the religious and political binary fault line between Catholic/ Nationalist/ Irish and Protestant/ Unionist/ British was something that 20 years of the Peace Process would begin to erode. This election will suggest quite the reverse: ‘real’ politics, based on political, ideological issues rather than simple religious affiliation may be some…

  • The televised political debate: Body language under the microsope

    The televised political debate: Body language under the microsope

    In 1960 politics changed forever. It was the first televised political debate in the U.S. between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The significance of the power of television in politics is demonstrated by the fact that those who listened to the debate on the radio thought that Nixon had won, whereas those who watched…

  • Oh no.. not another one!

    Oh no.. not another one!

    In the run up to this election there’s a torrent of comment about unpredictability and possible deals.  I have even heard people talk about another election shortly after this one.  Certainly after the 2010 election many believed that a second election would follow quickly if a suitable deal couldn’t be done. The most recent example…