Futureland Now

Futureland Now is a contemporary landscape project culminating in an exhibition and publication which builds and reflects upon an earlier exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1989. The original Futureland exhibition set out to engage with and to reflect key issues and concerns current within the contemporary Britain of the 1980s. The use of large-scale colour canvasses together with the use of texts provided a challenging and innovative new format which contributed to a re-evaluation of the aesthetics of contemporary fine art photography. The impact of this development and the accessibility of the medium ensured that the exhibition engaged a broad public audience and was influential in a broad historical context. Futureland Now provides a context in which to revisit the original exhibition and to reflect upon its legacy. The project contains key (reworked) images from the original exhibition together with relevant developmental material made by both artists in the interim period together with new works. In all cases the works can be said to explore and to reflect many of the original concerns made apparent in the original exhibition. Futureland Now is project located in the North of England but its scope and meanings lay far beyond. The landscape subjects in this work address contemporary issues of culture and society and reflect an economic context that continues to define us as a late capitalist culture in crisis. Much of the rhetoric framing the exhibition links the aesthetic imperatives of the work with earlier artists such as John Martin in their exploration of the industrial and cultural sublime. These issues are further explored in the eponymous publication, published by University of Plymouth Press

Euro elections – what can we expect to happen in the West Midlands?

In 2009 the West Midlands constituency elected six Members of the European Parliament, but under the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty this year it will elect seven. Previewing the forthcoming election, the Democratic Audit team show that UKIP are likely to finish first in this region, picking up at least two and perhaps three seats, the Conservatives stable and Labour recovering. The Liberal Democrats’ foothold in the region looks precarious

Why sticking with Labour is likely to be the Co-operative Party’s quickest route back to power

In the event of a second leadership contest win by Corbyn, a ploy to split Labour’s parliamentary rebels using the Co-operative Party and its presence in Parliament has been suggested. Outlying the history of the relationship between the two parties, Sean Kippin argues that keeping the faith with Labour might be the Co-op Party’s best bet, given past experience

Democratic round-up: the Salmond/Darling Scottish independence debate

Last night, the First Minister of Scotland, the Scottish National Party’s Alex Salmond went head-to-head with the Better Together campaign’s Chairman, and the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling. Here, Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin rounds up the response from the blogosphere, academia, and our esteemed newspaper columnists

Euro elections – what to expect in the South East

The South East is Britain’s biggest European constituency, returning ten MEPs. It is also normally one of the safest regions for the Conservatives, although the UKIP challenge may change this. In our latest preview of the forthcoming European Parliament election, the Democratic Audit team show that the Conservatives are likely to hold on to top place in the region, with a UKIP surge and Labour’s revival both challenging them all the way. Meanwhile, both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens hold onto vital MEP seats for them here, and will be looking to retain them

Euro elections – we predict the results for every region in the UK

To sustain voting in liberal democracies, it is vital to give voters immediate feedback on what their votes mean. The Democratic Audit team has been analysing the competition in the UK’s European Parliament elections at regional and country level. To round off our coverage we now predict these results in a detailed way, based on the most recent opinion polls and a careful simulation of the List PR system in every region

20 things we learned about democracy in March 2014

March 2014 was an eventful month for democracy, with April set to be even more eventful yet. From dancing to election results, to Islamophobia and local government, Democratic Audit brings you the 20 most interesting things that came across our radar this month

Euro elections – the contest in the North East

When North East voters go to the polls on 22 May to elect MEPs to the European Parliament for another five years, they will be electing only three MEPs, and the most likely outcome is that they will represent Labour, UKIP and the Conservatives. The Democratic Audit team explain how the List PR system works in such a small region and present a simplified ballot paper that should help voters in making a decision. We also give some background on the big six parties’ main candidates

Constant government reshuffles are bad for policy, government, and accountability

Ministerial reshuffles are part and parcel of British government. While prime ministers often find them attractive, David Cameron has resisted the temptation to chop and change too much, making a virtue out of stability but occasionally being criticised for his loyalty to underperforming or scandal-hit ministers. The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee has recommended that cabinet ministers should remain in their post for the length of a parliament. Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin examines whether this, and the Committee’s other proposals, could actually work

Euro elections – what to expect in the East of England

On May 22nd, the East of England region will elect seven MEPs in a contest whose outcomes remain full of interest. It seems likely that two Conservatives, two UKIP, and one Labour MEP will be elected. The last two seats will depend on the balance of votes between these leading parties and the Liberal Democrats, with the Greens also potentially in contention. Continuing our series of regional updates, the Democratic Audit team outline the possibilities and explain who the major party candidates are