The Republican's longest serving US Senator Ted Steven's has lost out to the Democratic Mayor of Anchorage Mark Begich, after the recount. He is 3,724 behind with only 2,500 overseas votes to be counted. In the lead up to the election Stevens had been convicted of about gifts he had received from an oil company. But the early voters and absentee ballots which would have been cast before...

I figure that enough time has passed since the US elections to be able to reflect on it a little more objectively, rather than in the over-cooked excitement of the immediate aftermath - and perhaps that is something Trevor Phillips should have done. Actually I kind of agree with what Trevor Phillips said.  In fact I said something similar shortly before the US election when I still expected Republican dirty tricks to derail the Obama campaign at the last minute: our entire system of government and the way political parties operate does make it unlikely that we would get a black prime minister -not that that our systems were set up with that intention: it is just the way it works. There are many differences between our system and the US system. Our system is better in some ways, and...

Or at least so says Labour Councillor Nick Wallis. "any kind of debate between the parties has been drowned out by the usual LibDem Sturm und Drang" That's his words not mine. Sounds like the words of a sore loser to me. Following on the SSCUP candidate in Glenrothes complaining that the parteis started to campaign too early, though after John McDougall was buried and the media had started...

How many businesses can vote in elections? So why are Tories offering tax cuts for businesses rather than individuals!?! They seem intent on coming second at the next election!...

This is an interesting election statement by Dr George O Wood. I agree with the most part of it - he talks a lot of sense - though he and I differ on what is true revival and spiritual awakening, and where it springs from. “The election, at long last, is over. As fellow believers, we offer to our new leaders the pledge of our prayers and our commitment to be good citizens in this wonderful land that the Lord has privileged us to live in. In this moment as I talk with you, I do not know the results of the election because this was recorded prior to the election. I wanted to bring these comments to you without knowing who won – because our responsibilities as Christians transcend politics – and we must be who we are regardless of who wins. The first century Christians lived in...

Congratulations are in order.Also, please ensure you have registered to vote if you have moved recently. Snap General Election could be called,Queens speech: 3rd DecemberNumber of days notice needed for a General election: 10th NovemberOf course the Queen's speech could always get pushed back a few days. Its only the Queen...

Click for sourceCongratulations to President-elect...

“I’ve never seen less clarity than during this season over who would be the next President. This, I believe, was a tactic of God.”   [Steve Shultz here] Uh huh. So God is to blame for all the greedy money-making man-pandering false prophets getting it wrong yet again then? Posted in Elijah List (Steve Schulz), False Prophets and Teachers, Greedy Shepherds, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), Prophecy, Steve Shultz (Elijah List)   Tagged: apostasy, church, discernment, elections, Elijah List, false prophets, Greedy Shepherds, heresy, Prophecy, prophetic, Steve Shultz   ...

Forget the pyrrhic victory I wrote about yesterday, the reality has been a bloody nose for the SNP and a seriously good result for Labour.It looks like everyone was shocked by the result, which suggests that the public might have been lying to the political parties and the pollsters. The naughty so-and-so's.In many ways it is easier being the underdog, as Labour were.As the incumbents at Holyrood and Fife Council the SNP seem to have found that being the target of discontent - rather than being able to grumble about Labour - is a very, very different place to be. And this will be something that Labour will target again and...

Yet again I find myself agreeing with David Cameron.  This time it is regarding the nice reference he made to to David Milliband when he said: “Barack Obama is the first of a new generation of leaders who will deliver...

Yes, that by-election is happening today.Latest word I have puts the SNP slightly ahead, but the Labour Party not conceding defeat and determined to get the vote out. That last part might be the bit that is difficult, and may cost them the seat.I'm not staying up tonight to wait for the result, as it is going to be an anti-climax whoever wins.Indeed, whoever wins will have a somewhat pyrrhic victory: if it is the SNP, then the swing is much less than Glasgow East; if it is Labour, then they have seen their majority slashed.But whoever loses is going to be fighting hard to justify their 'disastrous' performance to the media scrum looking for a...

It is a new dawn, is it not? Or at least so said Tony Blair on the 2nd of May 1997 as the sun rose on a Labour party that swept to an historic landslide victory against the Conservatives who had been in office for almost two decades. During those early months Labour and Blair rode on the crest of a wave of optimism and goodwill from many cheering crowds of Union Jack waving British people. However, this initial euphoria was short-lived and the rest is history. In ten years Blair presided over two unnecessary and futile wars in the Middle East, escalating (though often ignored) economic problems, the steady decline in our power of self-government and a rapid rise in political correctness among many, many other unpleasant facets stemming from his Labour administration. And so now to America...

As expected, Barack Obama has been elected, by what appears to be a landslide for the Democrats.I, for one, am delighted and I think that there is now an opportunity and desire for the US to rethink its role in the world and to consider the impact of its decisions on other countries.True, that the election was largely policy lite, with largely irrelevant and trivial issues dominating campaigning (at least at this distance), but the desire to re-balance the economy and international relationships is very encouraging. The team around Obama appears strong and able and with cross-party backing for his Presidency there should be huge beneficial changes for the US and for the world.(Let's not forget that many people had similar hopes for Tony Blair!)The markets seem to like his election too,...

Good choice in a President, but shame about Proposition 8.So, let me get this right? Whole states dislike people who are 'different to the majority' so much that they will change the fundamental constitution on which their whole society is based? Incredible. One step forward, 2 steps back.I've got an avatar that's a celibate Victorian with less fracked up priorities than that.Guess your not that '21st century' yet then eh?Even electing Boris Johnson in as Mayor of London isn't this crazy, well, okay, it's......

I remember Kurt Vonnegut, who didn’t make it this far. So it goes. “You were sick, but now you’re well again, and there’s work to...

And my American readers, who’s voted?  How has it been at the polling stations?  What’s the turnout like?   I hope you put Britain to shame with your turn out.  My politics are much further left than Obama and I’ve always viewed elections as puppet shows, but this is important, it actually matters, and it would send such a powerful message to the world if he’s elected. For people in the UK, here’s state by state timeline for the results coming in.  I might only be up until about until the results come in from Indiana, Virginia and Ohio.  (edit: 3.30am, whoops) http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2008/10/21/at-what-stage-will-we-know-that-obama-has-won/ We’ve got CNN on rather than the BBC.   American news channels are so loud, garish...

I met a Republican a few months back. He said this is the most embarrassing election he has ever had to sit through. Not because of John McCain, but because both candidates are awful.John McCain, the maverick ex Vietnam vet who chose to stay in prison than be released early (the cynic in me wants to believe this is because he was embarrassed to be locked up and this way he could get some award, or, not have to work for a while).The image he strikes is of a middle aged father trying to crack a joke with his University children "his friends".Lame.Obama, short stint Senator who has promised the Earth and will most likely deliver it, as a result of his protectionist policies and his return to isolationism.Naive.Both men, like most Americans, take a view of the world I don’t adhere to. The...

For all of UKIP's attempts to distance itself from the BNP, the latest being the high-profile announcement that it would not enter into an electoral pact with them, the fact remains that the two parties have overlapping membership, and similar philosophies. It was telling that the electoral pact was proposed by UKIP activist Buster Mottram, whose links with the BNP are well known...

The day that most of the world has been waiting for - The American elections. The candidate’s voices are wearing thin as they traverse the great span of America, hoping to engage those who remain undecided and especially to ignite a spark in those who may think their vote will not make a difference. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that Americans are keen to express how their government is being run. Just as with Britain, this process is a core to our celebration of freedom. And whether it’s The United States or the United Kingdom, we share in some core truths: We live in countries where priests, caretakers, and Librarians can get up early to open their buildings for use as voting centres. We live in countries where there are warehouses to store ballot boxes from one election to the...

I just wanted to tell you all good luck. We’re all counting on...

The cusp of history is a very frightening place to be.The last time I felt like this about American politics my hopes died on the floor of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and I was 17.I so hope that in the words of Dame Julian of NorwichAll will be well, All will be well, All manner of things will be well.Go...

Well, it’s very off-topic but I’ve been itching to ask my American readers: who will you be voting for? I know that it’s a puppet show, but whoever wins sends a message to the world. View Poll Do please elaborate in the comments, thankyouverymuch. Edit: interesting video mash ups. Racism: on how McCain’s campaign is benefiting from racism Robo-calling from McCain’s campaign calling Obama a terrorist, public opinion Colin Powell makes a very moving argument towards the end of the video.  And I agree that I don’t think McCain is his more deranged voters.  But by not speaking out against them, he is condoning their poisonous views. I like this advert, too. If asked to guess, I would have expected my readers to be mostly liberal minded.  People with...

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines socialism as: 1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and...

35 senates seats are up for election next week, alongside the entire House of Representatives. Both Chambers are currently held by the Democrats but in the Senate this majority is merely 51-49 which means that the Republicans can filibuster any Bill that would come from an Obama White House (unless of course the nuclear option is used). The magic number to defeat a filibuster is 60 and with 23 of the 35 senate seats up for election being Republican ones, that number is looking more and more achievable, even more so when you realise that the only retiring Senators are Republican ones, 5 have decided to step down meaning that Republicans in those seats lose the incumbency factor. Worse case scenario for the Republicans, they lose 23 seats and the Democrats end up with a filibuster proof...

The Anchorage Daily News has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the US presidency and not the ticket included the states own Governor Sarah Palin. While they point out the significance of the first ever Alaskan seeking high national office, they realise: "The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the...

I like half term. It gives me an opportunity to catch up on the jobs that I have put to one side during term time. Once such job is voting in the Lib Dem Presidential election. So far as Chair of the local party I thought it was my duty to stay neutral, although in private I have told a few Lib Dems who I was backing. I have invited all three candidates to join us in Epping Forest...

Although many are today attempting to spin Sarah Palin as a righteous ‘Mrs Smith going to Washington’ reforming character, with the hope she will clean up politics and corruption in the White House because she is purportedly a spirit-filled ‘Christian’ and is ’fresh’, I think she falls far short on this idealistic image Americans have taken so much to their hearts and deep into their psyche. American dreams can be manipulated for dark purposes as also can their cultural icons. The American subconcious - a powerful thing indeed - is currently being yanked and worked on by spin doctors and stylists and republican false prophets. Though she may be spun as a Mrs Smith, Sarah Palin isn’t one. Oh that she really were! I found the following...

Do you know the last time the GOP won an election without a Richard Nixon or George Bush on the party's ticket? Click HERE to find out. You may be...

On the al-Hesbah website Muhammad Haafid, an al-Queda supporter, has stated his preference for the election in 2 weeks time. He says one candidate, is the better choice is al-Queda want to exhaust the US militarily and economically. He even says that a terro strike on mainland USA before the election on November 4 could well ensure that his preferred choice wins. So just who is that friend...

Labour were accused of trying to limit spending by rival parties in marginal seats when it moved forward its plans for reforms to funding for Westminster elections. Currently there is a limit set on when the election is called, but now they are looking to set a cap of £11,000 per constituency from when campaigning is deemed to have started. Sitting MPs will retain their £40,000 p.a. allowance...