Labour too weak to win election alone, Fabian Society says

Image copyright Reuters Labour is “too weak” to win a general election alone and should consider working with other parties, a left-of-centre think tank has said.
The Fabian Society said securing an overall majority was “currently unthinkable” for Labour.
It said the party faced a “Brexit dilemma” because it needed to reach out to voters on both sides of the debate.
But Labour said leader Jeremy Corbyn offered the “only genuine alternative” to a failed political establishment.
"Fake anti-elitists"A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said: “Rebuilding Labour support after its fragmentation at the 2015 election was always going to be a challenge.
“But Labour under Jeremy Corbyn will be taking its case to every part of Britain in the coming months with a radical policy platform, offering the only genuine alternative to a failed parliament political establishment and the fake anti-elitists of the hard right.”
Mr Corbyn has previously said his party could climb the “electoral mountain” ..

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The election result was not decided in the Kremlin

WHY is it unsettling to see Republicans and Democrats squabbling afresh about Russian meddling in last month’s presidential election? After all, the allegation being debated has been known for months: namely, that in 2015 and again in 2016 at least two groups of hackers with known links to Russian intelligence broke into the computer systems of the Democrati..

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Obama pledges retaliation for "Putin election hack"

Image Caption: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) pictured with his US counterpart Barack Obama in September Barack Obama has said the US will take action against Russia after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the outcome of the US election.
President Obama said America would respond at a “t..

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Putin "personally involved in US election hack"

Image Caption: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) pictured with his US counterpart Barack Obama in September Barack Obama has said the US will take action against Russia after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the outcome of the US election.
President Obama said America would respond at a “t..

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Putin "involved in US election hacking"

Image Caption: It is the first time officials have publicly accused Vladimir Putin of being involved Russia"s President Putin knew about and was directly involved in hacking during the US election, claim senior intelligence officials.
He personally authorised hacking Democratic Party email accounts and directed how the information was used, the US offi..

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The election result was not decided in the Kremlin

WHY is it unsettling to see Republicans and Democrats squabbling afresh about Russian meddling in last month’s presidential election? After all, the allegation being debated has been known for months: namely, that in 2015 and again in 2016 at least two groups of hackers with known links to Russian intelligence broke into the computer systems of the Democrati..

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Sleaford by-election: Voters prepare to elect new MP

Image caption Stephen Phillips had been an MP since 2010 By-election campaigns in Sleaford are into their final stages as voters prepare to go to the polls on Thursday.
The Lincolnshire seat became vacant after Tory MP Stephen Phillips quit last month over “irreconcilable policy differences” with the government.
He had a majority of more than 24,000 at the last general election.
Paediatrician Caroline Johnson will run for the Tories, taking on Labour"s Jim Clarke, Lib Dem Ross Pepper and UKIP"s Victoria Ayling.
Labour"s Sleaford hopeful Mr Clarke is a refuse collector, while Lib Dem Mr Pepper works for an optician and UKIP"s Ms Ayling is a Lincolnshire County councillor.
The Green Party is not fielding a candidate, but has given its backing to independent Sarah Stock, who is campaigning on a “Save the NHS” ticket.
In last year"s election, Mr Phillips, who had held the seat since 2010, won a majority of 24,115, with 56% of the vote.
Labour finished second, clo..

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Could a recount overturn the election result?

MOST voters yearn for closure after an unusually bitter election campaign, but three of the four candidates for the presidency now claim that the election may not have been free and fair. The loudest is Donald Trump. The president-elect frequently alleged that the election process was rigged and voter fraud common in the run-up to the election. On November 2..

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Brexit by-election

Image copyright Getty Images There is much about the Liberal Democrats" win in Richmond Park that is worth remarking on.
It saw a huge swing to the party which, just last year, saw its support collapse after five years in coalition government.
The decision by the south-west London seat"s previous incumbent Zac Goldsmith to follow through on a political point of principle over Heathrow expansion failed miserably.
And it saw Labour"s vote fall dramatically, with the Lib Dems taking the credit for scooping up their supporters.
But it is the claim by the victor Sarah Olney that the result is a verdict on Brexit that is most worthy of examination, because it goes to the heart of the schism that has been driven into British politics this year.
Lib Dems are back, says Farron
In quotes: What result means
Ten famous by-elections
Lib Dems oust Goldsmith in Richmond Park
Some of the testy language of the referendum campaign was echoing around Richmond and beyond over the last 24..

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Tim Farron on Lib Dem Richmond Park by-election win

The Liberal Democrat leader on the Richmond Park by-election result win by his party.

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Lib Dems "are back" after shock by-election win

Media captionLib Dem Sarah Olney beat Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park by-election. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron claims his party is “back in the big time” after it fought on the issue of Brexit to oust ex-Tory MP Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park by-election.
Lib Dem challenger Sarah Olney overturned Mr Goldsmith"s 23,015 majority to finish 1,872 votes ahead.
Mr Goldsmith quit the Tories to stand as an independent after the government backed a third Heathrow runway.
But the Lib Dems successfully switched the focus of the campaign to Brexit.
Lib Dems oust Goldsmith in by-election
In quotes: What the result means
Ten famous by-elections
In pictures: By-elections since 2010
BBC London Live: By-election reaction
Mr Goldsmith was among Conservatives who backed a Leave vote in the 23 June referendum on the UK"s membership of the EU.
Mr Farron said the outcome was a verdict on Theresa May"s “UKIP-ish” take on Brexit and showed that it was possible for moderates to win.
The re..

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Jacob Rees-Mogg reacts to Richmond Park by-election

Remain supporters in Richmond Park are disgruntled about the majority of the UK going against them, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg tells the BBC.

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Zac Goldsmith ousted by Lib Dems in Richmond Park by-election

Media captionLib Dem Sarah Olney beat Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park by-election. The Liberal Democrats have caused a major upset in the Richmond Park by-election, overturning a 23,015 majority to oust ex-Tory MP Zac Goldsmith.
Mr Goldsmith stood as an independent after leaving the Conservative Party in protest at the government"s decision to back a third Heathrow runway.
But Lib Dem Sarah Olney, who is also opposed to Heathrow expansion, fought the campaign on the issue of Brexit.
Labour"s Christian Wolmar lost his £500 deposit as he trailed a distant third.
The other five candidates also lost their deposits as they did not receive a big enough share of the vote.
"No hard Brexit"
Ms Olney polled 20,510 votes to Mr Goldsmith"s 18,638.
The Conservative Party, UK Independence Party and Green Party did not field candidates.
As the new Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, Ms Olney will be the party"s only female MP – joining eight male colleag..

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Richmond Park by-election: Voters going to the polls

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The constituency includes Richmond Park, London"s largest enclosed green space Voters are going to the polls to elect a new MP for the constituency of Richmond Park.
A by-election was triggered in the south-west London seat by the decision of former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith to resign and seek re-election as an independent candidate.
Polling stations opened at 07:00 GMT and close at 22:00 GMT.
The Conservatives had a majority of 23,015 at the 2015 general election, with the Lib Dems in second place.
According to the BBC weather forecast, polling day will start cold and crisp, becoming cloudier later.
Here, are all the candidates, in alphabetical order of surname:
Zac Goldsmith, Independent Howling Laud Hope, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party Maharaja Jammu and Kashmir, One Love Party Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrats David Powell Dominic Francis Stockford, Christian Peoples Alliance Fiona Natasha Syms, Independent Christian Wolmar, La..

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Richmond Park by-election: A snapshot

BBC Newsnight takes a snapshot of the mood and candidates in the upcoming Richmond Park by-election.

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Richmond Park by-election campaign entering final phase

Media captionCampaigning heats up in Richmond Park by-election Campaigning is entering its final phase in the Richmond Park by-election ahead of Thursday"s vote.
The Lib Dems say there are “closing the gap” on sitting MP Zac Goldsmith, the former Tory who triggered the poll over his opposition to Heathrow expansion.
Both the Lib Dem and Labour candidates say they will vote against Brexit in the event of a Parliamentary vote.
Mr Goldsmith is backed by local Tory MPs and UKIP while the Green Party is backing the Lib Dems.
With the Conservatives, UKIP and Green Party not fielding candidates, there are eight people standing in the election.
Mr Goldsmith won the seat with a majority of more than 23,015 in last year"s general election but the Lib Dems are targeting the constituency – after making big gains in the Witney by-election last month – which they held for 13 years until 2010.
Leader Tim Farron and predecessor Nick Clegg are among those to have been out canvassing in the s..

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The role of technology in the presidential election

EARLY in America’s presidential campaign, pundits compared the contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to a fight between a large tanker and Somali pirates. This turned out to be particularly true of the digital campaigns: a massive data battleship lost to a chaotic flotilla of social-media speedboats. The big question now is what this means for fut..

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The tower of silence

AT THE close of “The Candidate”, an Oscar-winning movie released in 1972, the protagonist, played by Robert Redford, marks his surprise election to the Senate by turning to his campaign chief and asking: “What do we do now?” Donald Trump, the state of the president-elect’s transition effort suggests, has had a few such moments since his victory over Hillary ..

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Illness as indicator

Audio and Video content on Economist.com requires a browser that can handle iFrames.
THE first piece of news Americans woke up to on November 9th was that Donald Trump had been elected president. The second was that he owed his victory to a massive swing towards Republicans by white voters without college degrees across the north of the country, who deliver..

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Democrats on the brink

AGHAST at the defection of millions who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 but for Donald Trump in 2016—notably working-class whites in the Midwest—the left wants the Democratic Party to snatch up the banner of economic populism and declare war on Wall Street, big business and other global elites. At post-election gatherings like the Democracy Alliance conferenc..

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