Political Rebels

David Cameron had failed a key test of character and leadership by failing to confront Lord Ashcroft over his broken promises said the Liberal Democrat shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne. The full text of the speech is below: Conference, I have been in our party for 29 years – almost a generation – and I am just as angry at our unfair voting system today as I was when I joined.  The first general election I fought was in 1983  - I lost three times before I started winning – when we won...Read Full Story

Unlike past British elections where publicly talking of religion by candidates was frowned upon and considered “un-British,” candidates today are pursuing the Christian vote more than ever. The 2010 elections are marked with a desperate battle for marginal seats, and candidates are becoming more vocal about their beliefs in order to woo this sector, which is seen as a swing vote. Gordon Brown at the IMF headquarters in Washington D.C. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has frequently referred to...Read Full Story

Prime Minister Gordon Brown fired the starting gun Tuesday on a month-long election race, setting May 6 as the date for voting in what could be the closest poll for a generation. Announcing the widely-anticipated date after asking Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve parliament, a stern-faced Brown said Britain's fragile economic recovery was at risk if the opposition Conservatives took power. "Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk," he told reporters...Read Full Story

Scottish premier Alex Salmond on Tuesday slammed "incompetent" Britain's readiness to torpedo meaningful Europe-wide financial services industry supervision this week in Brussels. The head of the devolved Edinburgh government, who on Monday published plans aimed at taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom and into the European Union in its own right, said British controls are "inadequate" at every level. Salmond is a former economist whose hopes of breaking up Britain have been stymied by a...Read Full Story

The ex-director of children's services at a council embroiled in the Baby P scandal was not unlawfully dismissed, a High Court ruled on Friday. Sharon Shoesmith lost her case against Children's Secretary Ed Balls after Mr Justice Foskett rejected accusations that her sacking was procedurally flawed, unfair and unlawful. The judge said the decision to remove Shoesmith from her job could "not be impugned on the grounds of unfairness". Speaking after the judgment, Shoesmith's lawyers said they...Read Full Story