Author Archives: James Ball
Tories would have avoided coalition if boundary changes were in place in 2010
Analysis suggests Conservatives would have won 296 seats with the new boundaries – short of a majority but enough to governThe Conservatives may have been able to avoid entering a coalition with the Liberal Democrats had the 2010 election been carrie… Continue reading
Bradley Manning treatment in custody concerns MEPs
Open letter to US authorities raises human rights fears and urges access for UN special rapporteur on torture to whistleblower• The open letter by the 54 MEPsMore than 50 members of the European parliament have signed an open letter to the US governm… Continue reading
Two-thirds support social networking blackout in future riots
Poll shows majority of adults believe pulling plug on services such as Twitter and Facebook would stem spread of unrestMore than two-thirds of adults support the shutdown of social networks during periods of social unrest such as the riots in England t… Continue reading
Internship advertisements on government website may break law
Over half of 29,000 places listed on website since inception may have been for jobs paying below the minimum wageThe government’s Graduate Talent Pool website has listed more than 29,000 internships since its inception in 2009, according to higher educ… Continue reading
What makes the British so British? The disunited kingdom project is launched
As the Guardian begins to ask people about their national identity we look at the early dataHow do the people living in the United Kingdom define themselves? How many of Scotland’s residents count themselves at British, and how does that compare to Eng… Continue reading
The cost of the lottery: who much we spend and how much is given back to charitable causes
Just how much money from the lottery is given back to charitable causes? Is the money fairly distributed around the country? We get answers • Get the dataThe national lottery has always promised that a portion of the profits from ticket sales goes st… Continue reading
Camelot under fire for failing to say where national lottery cash is spent
New analysis of 1999 figures shows that some areas spent 100 times more on tickets than they received in charitable grantsCamelot, the operator of the National Lottery, has come under fire for refusing to release information showing how much of the mon… Continue reading
Palestinians: we are already recognised as a state by two-thirds of the globe
UN delegation claims member countries comprising 75% of the world’s population are in favour of its bid for full statehoodSee our interactive showing which countries recognise PalestinianAlmost two-thirds of the UN’s member states – representing more… Continue reading
English riots inquiry begins collecting evidence
Contributors being invited to give their views on the unrest last monthThe independent communities and victims panel, convened by Nick Clegg in place of an official inquiry into England’s riots in August, has begun collecting evidence for its report, w… Continue reading
Social media has its own class divide | James Ball
The choice of BlackBerry Messenger over Twitter in the recent UK riots illustrates the reality of social stratification in cyberspaceSocial media is getting a reputation as a troublemaker. The role of Twitter and Facebook in the Arab spring – though … Continue reading »