Welcome to our local elections special bulletin.   Local Elections were held in over 150 local authorities, with more than 4,300 seats up for grabs across metropolitan and district councils, unitary authorities and London boroughs. It was certainly a mixed-night for Labour and the Conservatives who both lost control of key councils and failed to make the gains that many were predicting. The UKIP vote also imploded with the party losing over 90 seats and winning only two in Derby. We’ll be analysing the results in more detail but an initial view of the key battlegrounds and results […]

Chelgate Autumn Newsletter 2014 The UK stands on the launchpad of a shale revolution, but while this prospect is threatened by ill-informed and ill-intended opposition, it is not helped by the reluctance of the UK oil and gas industry to do more in terms of information dissemination, engagement and community contributions. Huge potential reserves of oil and gas have been identified in various areas of England and Scotland which, if exploited, could lead to an economic boom similar to that experienced in the US in recent years. But protest groups have been very effective in swaying public opinion against hydraulic […]

Chelgate Autumn Newsletter 2014     No one can quite agree on where British politics is headed at the next General Election. Some say that the Conservatives are sure to recover a poll lead as election day approaches – Ed Miliband cannot possibly become PM. Others think the Tories have set a course for failure – we should all get used to hearing about ‘Prime Minister Ed Miliband’. Ever since UKIP picked up scores of councillors and MEPs in May’s election, and came a comfortable second to the Tories in the Newark by-election a few weeks later, the question on […]