Mark Gettleson

Mark Gettleson is a campaigns and communications strategist. He has written extensively on American and British politics, focusing on long-term electoral trends

David Cameron wants to party like it’s 2011

This was a landmark week in this long election campaign. It was the first this year in which two pollsters (YouGov and Lord Ashcroft) each posted a Conservative lead outside of the margin of error. A 4 per cent lead for the blues may not sound like much – but it represents the largest Conservative

Scottish electoral geography is working to the SNP’s advantage

The dramatic rout of Scottish Labour continues. Polls suggest the SNP will take 55 out of 59 seats and of the 14 constituencies surveyed by Lord Ashcroft, only Glasgow North East is set to remain in Labour hands. Such political collapses are rare in UK politics – so what’s going on? Prior to 2011, the dividing line of Scottish politics was

The Republicans will win the Senate tonight. Here’s how

The Republicans will win the Senate tonight in their biggest such win in a generation, even though two states may vote again in December and January. The Senate is currently made up of 53 Democrats, 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats and 45 Republicans. As such, the Republicans need 6 gains for control. They

Sandcastles, lettuce and a big train: where Ukip won and why

Anyone who watched the latest episode of Mary Queen of the High Street will have been mildly amused to see the retail diva encounter the good burghers of Margate. Urbane, fabulous and witty, with a mission tinged an air liberal imperialism, as if ‘to explore strange new worlds’. One can almost imagine her government reports: