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U08-424 16TheresaMay“You know what some people call us: ‘the nasty party’”

24ShirleyWilliams “Almost all the women I know underestimate themselves”

54 50 44ChukaUmunna“We didn’t manage to successfully renew in government”

“All politicians would do well to remember Churchill’s adage that ‘a joke is a very serious thing’”

“The parties failed to match the expertise of the Obama campaign in exploiting the internet”

Features

Cover Story 50 great conference quotes 16 Total Politics looks back at the best quotations from conferences over the years In conversation with Shirley Williams 24 One of the original ‘gang of four’ talks to Iain Dale about partying in her 80s and her remarkable career Are MPs age-limited? 32 Tor Clark and Juliet Shardlow explore why the average politician on the frontbench appears to be getting younger The 2010 Total Politics Blog Awards 36 We reveal the results and consider what they tell us about the current state of UK political blogging Class of 2010 40 A third of the House consists of new MPs. Alex Moorblack takes a look at how the new kids on the block aregetting on Labour’s renaissance man 44 Amber Elliott speaks to Chuka Umunna who has begun his career in the Commons with a huge amount of hype.

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Contents October 2010

The House is cracking up 50 The Commons seems to have lost its comic bite. We look at where all the jokes have gone Lessons of 2010 general election 54 Nicholas Jones looks at what lessons we will take from the 2010 general election Rewriting the rules 58 Peter Riddell argues for changes in how the coalition government is structured to ensure the Conservatives and Lib Dems can continue working together State of play 60 Policy Exchange, CentreForum and Demos summarise each main party’s performance since the election and what they need to do over conference season to improve

Special report 65 In association with The relationship between banks and their small and medium-sized business customers has been the focus of much attention in recent years. Total Politics and Santander examine the reality behind the issue in this special six page section

Profile 71 Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt Total Focus The key policy battlegrounds Culture, media and sport 72 Jeremy Hunt and Ben Bradshaw Transport 74 Theresa Villiers and Sadiq Khan Skills and training 78 Vince Cable and Pat McFadden Energy 80 Chris Huhne and Ed Miliband Education 84 Michael Gove and Ed Balls Health 87 Andrew Lansley and Andy Burnham Environment 92 Caroline Spelman and Hilary Benn