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This is where you can find updates on political issues in the North West, and my take on controversies from Cheshire to South Cumbria
11:09 UK time, Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Arif added analysis to:
Labour had a very good result in Lancashire, making a substantial 23 gains. But when the result was announced, there was little celebration because Labour had been hoping to regain control.
The Tories too were downcast, expecting to have done better. They are still just four seats behind Labour, and Geoff Driver remains leader of the council for now.
11:33 UK time, Friday, 14 December 2012
Arif added analysis to:
Joe Anderson is an outspoken council leader but this is a particularly stark warning. In effect the mayor is saying the government's cuts will lead to rioting, violence and injury on the streets of Liverpool.
It is true the big cities have been hit hardest by the cuts. This is partly because they are more reliant than other areas on direct government funding, rather than local council tax payers.
19:30 UK time, Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Arif added analysis to:
It's taken 23 years of campaigning for governments to be forced to take the injustice of the Hillsborough tragedy as seriously as this.
But the mass of evidence, disclosures and revelations was enough to get the full apology from David Cameron that the families have wanted desperately for so long.
22:12 UK time, Monday, 18 June 2012
Arif added analysis to:
Nobody can be certain how an elected police commissioner will affect Merseyside and other forces, but already party politics is being injected into policing and some will be uncomfortable with that.
Commissioners will have to swear an oath of impartiality. But it is striking that Jane Kennedy sees herself as a potential Labour police commissioner, not a politically neutral one.
21:59 UK time, Thursday, 26 April 2012
Arif added analysis to:
Hustings are nothing new. But this election is. It is the first time voters in Salford have the chance to decide who runs the council in the new post of city mayor.
There is plenty of choice across the political spectrum from Left to Right. The major parties, minor parties and independents are well represented.
02:28 UK time, Saturday, 29 October 2011
Arif added analysis to:
Maybe 100 people will gather in Liverpool for this year's party conference but the mood will be gloomy.
It is the BNP's first major conference since this summer's leadership election.
22:31 UK time, Monday, 17 October 2011
Arif added analysis to:
What was the point of the debate?
A lot is explained by the scepticism of the families who have felt let down and betrayed by the system on several occasions.
03:49 UK time, Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Arif added analysis to:
On Tuesday, at three BAE sites, workers will be told the grim news.
Workers may well be shocked, having assumed that the uncertainty of the government's defence review was behind them. But there is a longer-term problem of fewer Typhoons being ordered than expected. BAE is hoping to win new export deals shortly to countries including Malaysia, India, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
14:08 UK time, Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Arif added analysis to:
The Boundary Commission's focus on equalising the size of constituencies, rather than maintaining historic links, is what's led it to propose some very unusual constituencies.
The North West will have 66 seats, compared to 72 at present, it's more if you include all of Cumbria. Only seven are totally untouched.
14:24 UK time, Wednesday, 17 August 2011
You would think politicians would be extremely cautious when it comes to expenses.
But on Tuesday the Labour chairman of the Greater Manchester Fire Authority, Fred Walker, announced he would be stepping down after a row over his travel costs.
17:01 UK time, Thursday, 21 July 2011
Are the wheels coming off what's been dubbed the "Merseytravel gravy train"?
Merseytravel is the authority which co-ordinates public transport across Merseyside.
17:57 UK time, Friday, 8 July 2011
I visited Parliament recently to talk to two of the three deputy speakers of the Commons.
Unusually both men are from the same county, Lancashire - Lindsay Hoyle, Labour MP for Chorley, and Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley.
13:36 UK time, Tuesday, 10 May 2011
A deceptively simple narrative has emerged to mark this year's local election results: the Liberal Democrats did very badly, Labour did quite well and the Conservatives escaped.
But it's not quite so simple in the North West. And since the region is a key general election battleground, the national parties should be taking note.
16:21 UK time, Thursday, 21 April 2011
On 4 May 2007, the Conservative Party hired a helicopter to allow David Cameron to savour a victory lap around the North West.
In a day of celebration, Mr Cameron visited councils including Chester, Blackpool and High Peak.
16:57 UK time, Monday, 18 April 2011
Warren Bradley has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrat group in Liverpool.
You will see from my previous post that he had upset some colleagues and Lib Dem HQ by strongly speaking out against the coalition.
17:46 UK time, Thursday, 14 April 2011
This week BBC North West Tonight revealed an extraordinary e-mail from Warren Bradley, the leader of the Lib Dem group, to Nick Clegg.
Mr Bradley, who was council leader for six years, is scathing about the coalition and predicts big losses for the party in May's elections.
17:46 UK time, Thursday, 14 April 2011
What's going on with the Liberal Democrats in Liverpool?
Until last year this was a flagship Northern council for the party.
15:56 UK time, Thursday, 7 April 2011
Hello and welcome to my new page on the BBC News website.
With 72 MPs and 37 councils, there's no shortage of politics in the North West.
Arif Ansari is the BBC's political editor in the North West of England.
He's worked for the BBC for just over 10 years.
After starting his career in local radio, Arif spent seven years working as a political reporter at Westminster. He has covered the last three general elections and interviewed all the major party leaders.
Arif was born in Crosby, Liverpool and is enjoying reporting politics back on home territory.
Richard Moss
Political editor, North East & Cumbria
Reporting politics in the North East and Cumbria
Patrick Burns
Political editor, Midlands
Analysis and thoughts on politics in the Midlands
Andrew Neil
Daily and Sunday Politics
People and policies that make Westminster tick
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