23 May 2014 - UK local and European elections
Activer le mode zen
Guide to the 2014 European and local elections
Staff (BBC News)
What's happening on Thursday?
There are local council elections in England and Northern Ireland - but the big one this year is the European election on the same day. It is the only time outside of a general election when all 46 million voters can take part. The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution in the European Union. So this is your chance to decide who represents you in Brussels and Strasbourg (Yes, they still shuttle between the two parliament buildings at regular intervals).
Read on...
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Local interest
Nigel Morris (The Independent)
Senior Conservative and Liberal Democrats will seek to steady party nerves and demonstrate the Government has not run out of steam in the coming weeks, following what are expected to be poor results for the Coalition partners in the council and European elections.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg will mount a fresh attempt to turn the spotlight on the improving health of the economy and will set out the Coalition programme for the next 11 months in the Queen’s Speech.
The Conservatives will also pour all their efforts into preventing Ukip from capturing the previously loyal Tory seat of Newark in next month’s parliamentary by-election.
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Context
James Kirkup (The Telegraph)
The European Union is “the most extraordinary platform” to help British business and following the UK Independence Party plan to leave would harm the economy, Kenneth Clarke has said.
The veteran Conservative Cabinet minister makes his comments in an article for The Telegraph ahead of expected gains by Nigel Farage’s party in this week’s elections.
European election results due on Sunday are expected to show Ukip has beaten the Tories for the first time nationally. Mr Farage said on Thursday: “Things will never be quite the same again.”
The Tories were also braced for setbacks in English council elections, with results due on Friday.
Read on...
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Opinion
Polly Toynbee (The Guardian)
How charmingly quaint is that walk down the road to the church hall polling station. How civilised are the party workers collecting numbers outside, politely conversing across an ideological chasm. Inside, two officials ticking off names as they hand out ballot papers seem part of history. In the booth, a pencil – a pencil!
What an archaic anachronism. This is the way old folks vote and the young don't. Why on earth can't everyone vote on the same mobile phones that are trusted to transfer mountains of money worldwide? It suits too many of the 580 MPs in rock-solid safe seats not to bother much about the mass of non-voting young people and low earners.
Of all our democracy's dysfunctions, the method of voting might seem a small one – but modernising elections would be a sign that Westminster was serious about the cataclysmic decline in turnout. As it stands, so long as the old parties reckon on slipping into Downing Street on a barely legitimate 35% of the vote, their pious handwringing and furrowed brows is all just crocodile tears.
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"23 May 2014 - UK local and European elections", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), mai 2014. Consulté le 16/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2014/23-may-2014-uk-local-and-european-elections