David Hopps

1 month ago | secnewgate.co.uk | David Hopps

I recall a time in the not so dim and distant past when a new leader of the Conservative Party took a sledgehammer to Tory orthodoxy, travelled to the Artic to hug a husky, and encouraged voters in the local elections to ‘Vote Blue, Go Green’. From that moment, David Cameron set his party as a leading political voice on the environment and climate change, something that was continued by his successors Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Nov 19, 2024 | secnewgate.co.uk | David Hopps

Thousands of farmers have today descended on a snowy Westminster in opposition to changes in inheritance tax rules brought in by Rachel Reeve’s recent budget. The protest, one of the largest staged by the sector for years, marks not only dissent towards the closure of a tax loophole but the culmination of decades of growing pressure on the farming community.

Jun 20, 2024 | secnewgate.co.uk | David Hopps

The politics of England’s North West, which stretches from the Scottish borders in the north to the rolling Cheshire plains in the south, is as diverse as the region’s geography. Home to the sprawling city region of Greater Manchester (arguably Britain’s second city) and contrasting sharply with the remote wilderness of the Cumbrian Fells, the region is often seen as a bellwether for the country given the proliferation of marginal seats that switch between red and blue.

Apr 18, 2024 | secnewgate.co.uk | David Hopps

The importance of the north of England in political and policy discourse has heightened in recent years (see Northern Powerhouse, Red Wall or Levelling Up), as has its economic influence on the UK as a whole. The north’s beating heart – though some would dispute this – is the sprawling city region of Greater Manchester (colloquially known as GM in political circles).

Feb 29, 2024 | secnewgate.co.uk | David Hopps

Voters in the Greater Manchester town of Rochdale go to the polls today, marking an end to what has been one of the most chaotic by election campaigns in recent times. The poll, which will choose a successor to the veteran Labour MP Tony Lloyd, who died in office earlier in the year, has been fraught with drama from the outset. The circumstances being so unique that, whatever the outcome, the result is unlikely to be a reflection of the current national political situation.