Tag: british elections

The direction of the UK's future European policy remains highly uncertain whatever the outcome of this week's general election, and although the rise of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg may be good news for Europe, the implications for the EU of the British poll remain very much up in the air, writes Richard Youngs, director-general of Madrid-based European think-tank FRIDE, in an exclusive commentary for EurActiv.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown will this morning announce a 6 May parliamentary election in the UK, which could bring down the curtain on 13 years of rule by his Labour Party.

British opposition leader David Cameron faces dissent from many in his party who want a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty if the Conservatives win power, even if the charter is already in force.

The tone of UK Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague's 21 July speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London "takes us back to Winston Churchill's image of Britain at the centre of three concentric circles: transatlantic, Commonwealth and European - a world that no longer exists," writes Stanley Crossick, founder of the European Policy Centre, in a July post on Blogactiv.

British politicians across party lines have been hit by revelations about their expenses claims. But three weeks ahead of the EU elections, it is the ruling Labour party which appears to be the greatest victim of the row.

The Labour Party is aiming for a third consecutive term in power in the UK elections on 5 May. EurActiv looks into why there has been such a lack of EU debate in the parties' election campaigns.