Elections Archives

Research Briefing

Malaysia: the ruling coalition strikes back

Thursday, 02 October, 2014

In May 2013 elections, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, led by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, won a majority of seats in parliament despite gaining only 47% of the vote. With his leadership under significant threat within UMNO, the dominant Malay party within the BN, since the 2013 elections Najib has launched a campaign of harassment of the political opposition and a focused anew on affirmative action for Malays. Longstanding sodomy charges have been revived against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Najib's reforming credentials currently look threadbare.
Research Briefing

Universal suffrage to elect the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017: a legal primer

Tuesday, 30 September, 2014

In August 2014 the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress decided that the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong should be directly elected in 2017 by universal suffrage. However, the candidates (expected to be two or three in total) will still have to be approved in advance by a nominating committee, whose composition and method of formation will remain unchanged from that of the 1200-person strong ‘Election Committee’ which elected the current Chief Executive in 2012. Critics argue that this nominating committee will have an in-built ‘pro-Beijing’ bias. The decision has triggered a wave of protest. This briefing summarises the legal context of recent events, including the UK's own obligations.
Research Briefing

Scottish Independence Referendum 2014

Tuesday, 30 September, 2014

In the Scottish Independence Referendum held on the 18th September 2014, the proposition ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ was rejected by a margin of 10.6 percentage points. The turnout at the referendum was 84.6% including rejected papers (84.5% based on valid votes). This is the highest turnout at a nationwide referendum or parliamentary election in Scotland since the franchise was extended to women in 1918.
Research Briefing

Demographic differences and voting patterns in Scotland’s independence referendum

Tuesday, 23 September, 2014

In Thursday’s referendum, Scottish independence was rejected by a margin of around 10 percentage points. Yet the 1,617,989 votes cast in favour of leaving the UK – representing 44.7% of total voters and roughly 37% of all those in the country aged 16 or over – indicate clear differences of opinion on the question of
- Research Briefing
- Voters
Insight

Demographic differences and voting patterns in Scotland’s independence referendum

Tuesday, 23 September, 2014
- Insight
- Elections
- Voters
Research Briefing

How do Scottish referendum polls compare with the result?

Friday, 19 September, 2014

In the immediate aftermath of the Scottish referendum there are many details of the campaign and the data to examine (expect more here next week). One particularly interesting feature is how the polls carried out during the final weeks of the campaign compare with the actual result. The following chart shows the distribution of polls
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Insight

How do Scottish referendum polls compare with the result?

Friday, 19 September, 2014
- Insight
- Elections
Research Briefing

Timetable for the 2015 UK parliamentary general election

Wednesday, 10 September, 2014

The date for the 2015 general election has been set by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. This briefing explains changes to the dissolution of parliament resulting from the 2011 act and the timetable for the 2015 election.
Research Briefing

Who Gets Who They Vote For?

Friday, 15 August, 2014

With the Scottish referendum approaching, the difference between the composition of MPs in areas and the national government is being highlighted. One of the arguments for Scottish Independence has been that a vote for independence would mean Scotland would not have a party in government in Westminster that it did not vote for. But how
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Insight

Who Gets Who They Vote For?

Friday, 15 August, 2014
- Insight
- Elections
Research Briefing

The US mid-term elections: domestic and foreign policy issues

Monday, 11 August, 2014

As the US mid-term elections approach, the Democrats and Republicans are tied, approximately, in the opinion polls. This note brings together some polling information and summarises some of the main issues and recent news stories that may affect the result.
Research Briefing

Local election petitions

Wednesday, 30 July, 2014

A local election petition has been brought following the elections on 22 May 2014 in Tower Hamlets seeking to have the election of the mayor, Lutfur Rahman, declared void. This note gives details of the different electoral offences and the procedure for bringing a local election petition. It also gives brief details of previous allegations of electoral abuse in Tower Hamlets.
- Research Briefing
- Elections
Research Briefing

Whither the UKIP vote? The 2014 local elections and implications for 2015

Friday, 25 July, 2014

Eight weeks on from the 2014 European and local elections, the election results may be out of the headlines but parties are left with much to ponder as to what it means for their chances at the general election next May. UKIP’s extraordinary performance saw them secure 24 of the 73 European Parliament seats (up
Insight

Whither the UKIP vote? The 2014 local elections and implications for 2015

Friday, 25 July, 2014
Research Briefing

Election addresses

Wednesday, 23 July, 2014

This note looks briefly at the current provisions covering the free postage of election addresses and the decision to make the election addresses of the candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in 2012 available on a central website instead of mailing them to households. Turnout at the PCC elections averaged 14.7% across all police areas. Following the death of the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands a by-election is to be held on 21 August 2014. The Government has published a draft Order to allow booklets containing the candidates’ election addresses to be delivered to homes in the West Midlands.

Total results (page 32 of 47)