1.
Conservative Party (UK)
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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
2.
Liberal Democrats (UK)
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The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, at the 2015 general election, the party was reduced to eight MPs. Nick Clegg resigned as leader and Tim Farron won the subsequent leadership election, the party currently has nine MPs, following the Richmond Park by-election. The Alliance was led by David Steel and Roy Jenkins, Jenkins was replaced by David Owen, the two parties had their own policies and emphases, but produced a joint manifesto for the 1983 and 1987 general elections. Following disappointing results in the 1987 election, Steel proposed to merge the two parties, although opposed by Owen, it was supported by a majority of members of both parties, and they formally merged in March 1988, with Steel and Robert Maclennan as joint interim leaders. The new party was initially named Social and Liberal Democrats with the short form The Democrats being used from September 1988. The name was changed to Liberal Democrats in October 1989. The new party logo, the Bird of Liberty, was adopted in 1989, the party is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and Liberal International. The then-serving Liberal MP Paddy Ashdown was elected leader in July 1988, at the 1989 European Elections, the party received only 6% of the vote, putting them in fourth place after the Green Party. They failed to gain a single Member of the European Parliament at this election, over the next three years, the party recovered under Ashdowns leadership. They performed better at the 1990 local elections and in by-elections—including at Eastbourne in 1990, Ribble Valley in 1991, the Lib Dems did not reach the share of national votes in the 1990s that the Alliance had achieved in the 1980s. At their first election in 1992, they won 17. 8% of the vote, in the 1994 European Elections, the party gained its first two Members of European Parliament. The election was, however, something of a point for the Liberal Democrats. Ashdown retired as leader in 1999 and the party elected Charles Kennedy as his replacement, the party improved on their 1997 results at the 2001 general election, increasing their number of seats to 52 and their share of the vote to 18. 3%. The party won seats from Labour in by-elections in Brent East in 2003 and Leicester South in 2004, under Kennedys leadership the majority of Pro-Euro Conservatives, a group of former members of the Conservatives, joined the Liberal Democrats on 10 December 2001. At the 2005 general election, the Lib Dems gained their highest share of the vote since the SDP–Liberal Alliance and won 62 seats. Many had anticipated that this election would be the Lib Dems breakthrough at Westminster, party activists hoped to better the 25% support of the 1983 election, or to reach 100 MPs. Much of the apparent lack of success resulted from the first-past-the-post electoral system, controversy became associated with the campaign when it became known that Michael Brown had donated £2.4 million to the Liberal Democrats
3.
Labour Party (UK)
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The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Labour later served in the coalition from 1940 to 1945. Labour was also in government from 1964 to 1970 under Harold Wilson and from 1974 to 1979, first under Wilson and then James Callaghan. The Labour Party was last in government from 1997 to 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, beginning with a majority of 179. Having won 232 seats in the 2015 general election, the party is the Official Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the party also organises in Northern Ireland, but does not contest elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance. In September 2015, Jeremy Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party, the first Lib–Lab candidate to stand was George Odger in the Southwark by-election of 1870. In addition, several small socialist groups had formed around this time, among these were the Independent Labour Party, the intellectual and largely middle-class Fabian Society, the Marxist Social Democratic Federation and the Scottish Labour Party. In the 1895 general election, the Independent Labour Party put up 28 candidates, Keir Hardie, the leader of the party, believed that to obtain success in parliamentary elections, it would be necessary to join with other left-wing groups. Hardies roots as a lay preacher contributed to an ethos in the party led to the comment by 1950s General Secretary Morgan Phillips that Socialism in Britain owed more to Methodism than Marx. The motion was passed at all stages by the TUC, the meeting was attended by a broad spectrum of working-class and left-wing organisations—trades unions represented about one third of the membership of the TUC delegates. This created an association called the Labour Representation Committee, meant to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and it had no single leader, and in the absence of one, the Independent Labour Party nominee Ramsay MacDonald was elected as Secretary. He had the task of keeping the various strands of opinions in the LRC united. The October 1900 Khaki election came too soon for the new party to campaign effectively, only 15 candidatures were sponsored, but two were successful, Keir Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil and Richard Bell in Derby. Support for the LRC was boosted by the 1901 Taff Vale Case, the judgement effectively made strikes illegal since employers could recoup the cost of lost business from the unions. In their first meeting after the election the groups Members of Parliament decided to adopt the name The Labour Party formally, the Fabian Society provided much of the intellectual stimulus for the party. One of the first acts of the new Liberal Government was to reverse the Taff Vale judgement, the Peoples History Museum in Manchester holds the minutes of the first Labour Party meeting in 1906 and has them on display in the Main Galleries. Also within the museum is the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, the governing Liberals were unwilling to repeal this judicial decision with primary legislation
4.
Chelmsford
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Chelmsford is the principal settlement of the City of Chelmsford and the county town of Essex, in the East of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately 32 miles northeast of Charing Cross, London, the urban area of the city has a population of approximately 120,000, whilst the district has a population of 168,310. The communities of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Chelmsford, Ontario, and Chelmsford, Chelmsfords population consists of a large number of City and Docklands commuters, attracted by the 30–35 minute journey from Central London via the Great Eastern Main Line. The same journey takes approximately 60 minutes by road via the A12, on 14 March 2012, Lord President of the Privy Council and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that Chelmsford, along with Perth, Scotland and St Asaph, Wales, was to be granted city status. The Letters Patent officially granting city status to Chelmsford from The Queen were received on 6 June 2012, the demonym for a Chelmsford resident is Chelmsfordian. An under-cover market, operating Tuesday to Saturday, is still an important part of the city centre over 800 years later, the citys name is derived from Ceolmaers ford which was close to the site of the present High Street stone bridge. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town was called Celmeresfort and its position on the Londinium – Camulodonum Roman road ensured the early prosperity of Chelmsford. Before 1199, there were nearby from ancient times. A Neolithic and a late Bronze Age settlement have been found in the Springfield suburb, a Roman fort was built in AD60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The remains of a mansio, a combination post office, civic centre and hotel, lie beneath the streets of modern Moulsham, the town disappeared for a while after the Romans left Britain. The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century and by 1218 it was recognised as the county town of Essex, a position it has retained to the present day. Chelmsford was significantly involved in the Peasants Revolt of 1381, the Sleepers and The Shadows, written by Hilda Grieve in 1988 using original sources, states, For nearly a week, from Monday 1st July to Saturday 6th July, Chelmsford became the seat of government. The king probably lodged at his manor house at Writtle. He was attended by his council, headed by the temporary Chancellor, Richard II famously revoked the charters which he had made in concession to the peasants on 2 July 1381, while in Chelmsford. It could be said that given this movement of government power, the road Saxon Way now marks the site. In the 17th century many of the victims of Matthew Hopkins spent their last days imprisoned in Chelmsford, before being tried at the Assizes, Henry VIII purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built Beaulieu Palace on the current site of New Hall School. This later became the residence of his mistress, and later wife Anne. Soon after it became the residence of Henrys daughter, by his first marriage, during World War II Chelmsford, an important centre of light engineering war production, was attacked from the air on several occasions, both by aircraft of the Luftwaffe and by missile
5.
Essex
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Essex /ˈɛsᵻks/ is a county in England immediately north-east of London. It borders the counties of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, the county town is Chelmsford, which is the only city in the county. Essex occupies the part of the old Kingdom of Essex, before this. As well as areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury. Originally recorded in AD527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex and its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea. In changes before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England and, following the Norman conquest, Essex became a county. During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the county in a period to 1204. Gradually, the subject to forest law diminished, but at various times included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar. County-wide administration Essex County Council was formed in 1889, however County Boroughs of West Ham, Southend-on-Sea and East Ham formed part of the county but were unitary authorities. 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, parish-level administration – changes A few Essex parishes have been transferred to other counties. Before 1889, small areas were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford, Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region. Two unitary authorities In 1998 the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were granted autonomy from the county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities. Essex Police covers the county and the two unitary authorities. The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford, before 1938 the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts closer to that point and the dominance of railways had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors, before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, the pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. Epping Forest also acts as a barrier to the further spread of London. Part of the southeast of the county, already containing the population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway
6.
Greater London
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London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties, protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority. The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
7.
Essex County Council election, 2013
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An election to Essex County Council took place on 2 May 2013 as part of the United Kingdom local elections,2013. 75 councillors were elected from 70 electoral divisions, which returned one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as used at the previous election in 2009. No elections were held in Thurrock or Southend-on-Sea, which are unitary authorities outside the area covered by the County Council, all locally registered electors who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 2 May 2013 were entitled to vote in the local elections. The election saw the Conservative Party retain overall control of the council, UKIP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all won nine seats. Of the three second-placed parties who won nine seats, UKIP gained the largest share of the county-wide vote, the Liberal Democrats remain as the official Opposition due to incumbency, despite winning fewer votes. The Green Party gained two seats on the Council, despite its overall share of the vote falling, the Independent Loughton Residents Association and the Canvey Island Independent Party both returned one member and an Independent candidate was also elected. Result Summary Division Results Results by election ward
8.
UK Independence Party
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The UK Independence Party is a Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Newton Abbot, Devon, and currently led by Paul Nuttall, at Westminster, UKIP has no Members of Parliament in the House of Commons and three representatives in the House of Lords. It has 20 Members of the European Parliament, making it jointly the largest UK party in that Parliament and it has five Assembly Members in the National Assembly for Wales and has 438 councillors in UK local government. Ideologically positioned on the wing of British politics, UKIP has been characterised as part of a broader European radical right by political scientists. It promotes a British unionist and British nationalist agenda, although its claim that the latter is a form of civic nationalism has been disputed. UKIPs primary emphasis has been on Euroscepticism, calling for the UKs exit from the European Union and it has also placed strong emphasis on lowering immigration, opposing multiculturalism, and encouraging a unitary British identity. On social issues like LGBT rights and education policy it favours traditional values, influenced by Thatcherism and classical liberalism, it describes itself as economically libertarian and promotes liberal economic policies. Having an ideological heritage stemming from the wing of the Conservative Party. UKIP originated as the Anti-Federalist League, a single-issue Eurosceptic party established by the historian Alan Sked in 1991 and it was renamed UKIP in 1993 but its growth remained slow, it was largely eclipsed by the Eurosceptic Referendum Party until the latters 1997 dissolution. Sked was then ousted by a led by Nigel Farage. Under Farages leadership, from 2009 the party adopted a policy platform and capitalised on concerns about rising immigration. This resulted in significant breakthroughs at the 2013 local elections,2014 European elections, the pressure UKIP exerted on the government is widely regarded as the main reason for the 2016 referendum which led to the decision to withdraw from the European Union. Governed by its leader and National Executive Committee, UKIP is divided into regional groups. UKIP began as the Anti-Federalist League, a Eurosceptic political party established in 1991 by the historian Alan Sked, the League opposed the recently signed Maastricht Treaty and sought to sway the governing Conservative Party toward removing the United Kingdom from the European Union. A former Liberal Party candidate, member of the Bruges Group, under the Anti-Federalist Leagues banner, Sked stood as a prospective Member of Parliament in Bath at the 1992 general election, gaining 0. 2% of the vote. UKIP contested the 1994 European Parliament election with little financing and much infighting, securing itself as the fifth largest party in that election with 1% of the vote. During this period, UKIP was viewed as a typical single-issue party by commentators, following the election, UKIP lost much support to the Referendum Party, founded by the multi-millionaire James Goldsmith in 1994, it shared UKIPs Eurosceptic approach but was far better funded. UKIP was beaten by the Referendum Party in 163 of the 165 seats in which stood against each other
9.
Green Party of England and Wales
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The Green Party of England and Wales is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Headquartered in London, since 2 September 2016 its Co-Leaders are Caroline Lucas, the Green Party has one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, one representative in the House of Lords, and three Members of the European Parliament. It has various councillors in UK local government and two members of the London Assembly and it also takes a progressive approach to social policies such as civil liberties, animal rights, LGBT rights and drug policy reform. The party also believes strongly in nonviolence, basic income, a living wage, the party comprises various regional divisions, including the semi-autonomous Wales Green Party. Internationally, the party is affiliated to the Global Greens and the European Green Party, experiencing centralising reforms spearheaded by the Green 2000 group in the early 1990s, the party sought to emphasise growth in local governance, doing so throughout the 1990s. In 2010, the party gained its first MP in Caroline Lucas, the Green Party of England and Wales has its origins in the PEOPLE Party, which was founded in Coventry in 1973. PEOPLE was renamed The Ecology Party in 1975, and in 1985 changed again to the Green Party, the Green Party of England and Wales is registered with the Electoral Commission as simply the Green Party. In the 1989 European Parliament elections, the Green Party of England and Wales polled 15% of the vote with 2.3 million votes, the best ever performance of a Green party in a nationwide election. This success has been attributed to both the increased respectability of environmentalism and the effects of the development boom in southern England in the late 1980s. Many party members opposed the reforms, believing that they would undermine the internal party democracy, although Green 2000 proposals were defeated at the partys 1990 conference, they were overwhelmingly carried at their 1991 conference, resulting in an internal restructuring of the party. The party fielded more candidates than it had ever done before in the 1992 general election but was deemed to have performed poorly. In 1993, the party adopted its Basis for Renewal program in an attempt to bring together conflicting factions and thus save the party from bankruptcy, the party sought to escape their reputation as an environmentalist single-issue party by placing greater emphasis on social policies. In 1993, future party leader and MP Caroline Lucas gained a seat on Oxfordshire County Council, the Greens sought to build alliances with other parties in the hope of gaining representation at the parliamentary level. In Wales, the Greens endorsed Plaid Cymru candidate Cynog Dafis in the 1992 general election, in April 1995 the Green National Executive ruled that the party should withdraw from this alliance due to ideological differences. As the Labour Party shifted to the centre under the leadership of Tony Blair and his New Labour project. At the 2001 general election they polled 0. 63% of the vote, at the 2004 European Parliamentary elections the party returned 2 MEPS the same as in 1999, overall, the Party polled 1,033,093 votes. In the 2005 general election the party gained over 1% of the vote for the first time and this growth has been attributed to the increasing public visibility of the party as well as a general growth in support for smaller parties in the UK. In September 2008, the party elected its first leader, Caroline Lucas
10.
County Borough of West Ham
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West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, the borough included Plaistow, West Ham, Stratford, Canning Town and Silvertown – all of the current-day London Borough of Newham west of Green Street. At the time of the 1901 census it was the ninth most populous town or district in England with a population of 267,308, the borough formed part of Londons built-up area, was part of the London postal district and the Metropolitan Police District. West Ham underwent rapid growth from 1844 following the Metropolitan Building Act, the Act restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the River Lea. Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the side of the river and to West Ham, then a parish in Essex centred on All Saints Church. As a result, West Ham became one of Victorian Britains major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals and this rapid growth earned it the name London over the border. Many workers lived in conditions close to where they worked, leading to periodic outbreaks of contagious diseases. Problems centred on provision of paving, water supply, fire fighting. In 1853 a group of ratepayers initiated moves to local administration. This led to an enquiry by Charles Dickens brother Alfred, a medical officer. Accordingly, the Public Health Act 1848 was applied to the parish, the board had 15 members,12 elected and 3 nominated by the Commissioners of Sewers. In November 1878 the inhabitants of the decided to petition the privy council for a charter. However, encouraged by the 1883 incorporation of Croydon, a petition was submitted in May 1885. Following an inquiry in October 1885, a scheme for the creation of the borough and dissolution of the board of health was made in June, a corporation consisting of a mayor,12 aldermen and 36 councillors replaced the board, with the first elections held on 1 November. The first mayor was John Meeson, head of a lime burning and cement making firm. The Local Government Act 1888 created elected county councils to administer services throughout England, where a municipal borough had a population of more than 50,000 at the 1881 Census it was created a county borough, with the powers and duties of both a borough and county council. As West Ham had an 1881 population of 128,953 it duly became a county borough on 1 April 1889, the borough, while independent of Essex County Council for local government, remained part of the county for purposes such as the administration of justice and lieutenancy. The borough acquired the tram services in its area in 1898, electrified them in 1904
