Really Useful Links Page

Welcome to Liberator’s Really Useful Links Page. It provides Liberator readers with all the political weblinks they need, either directly or at one remove via another portal site. If you have any comments or suggestions, or wish to report a broken link, please send an email to: collective@liberator.org.uk

Liberator is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The inclusion of a link in this list does not necessarily imply an endorsement of the content.

Each link opens in a new window.

Contents

All the links are on this single webpage. To browse, simply scroll down the page. To jump forward to a particular group of links, click on a category in the contents list below:

• Liberator in the news
• About Liberator
• Blogs, websites, columns, op-eds and tweets of Liberator Collective members
• Blogs, websites, columns and op-eds of regular contributors to Liberator
• Liberal Democrat blogs and tweets
• Liberal Democrats (UK)
• • portals
  • liberal values
  • party websites
  • English regional party websites
  • councillors and local government
  • associated organisations and ginger groups
  • liberal periodicals in the UK
  • other liberal parties in the UK
  • other liberal-related organisations in the UK
• International Liberalism
• • Liberals in Europe
  • Liberals beyond Europe
  • UK Liberal Democrats resident abroad or active internationally
• Liberal historical resources
• Influential liberal texts
• Interesting ideas
• Think tanks (UK)
• The opposition (UK)
• • Labour
  • Conservatives
  • Nationalists and other parties
• Industrial and union organisations (UK)
• Political profilers (work out where you stand politically)
• Political portals
• Political speeches and oratory
• Political leaders worldwide
• UK governments and parliaments
• • governments
  • parliaments and assemblies
  • legislation
• UK local government
• UK government auditors
• UK electoral administration and boundaries
• UK ombudsmen
• UK regulators
• UK transparency and lobbying
• European Union
• • EU portals
  • EU institutions
  • EU legislation
  • EU-UK liaison
  • EU transparency and lobbying
  • EU-related advocacy campaigns
  • EU-related think tanks
  • EU-related news media
  • Euromyths refuted
• Other pan-European (non-EU) bodies
• Global intergovernmental organisations
• Elections and opinion polls
• • elections worldwide
  • elections results (UK)
  • election literature (UK)
  • opinion polls and political analysis
  • quality of democracy (UK)
• Online democracy
• Campaigning and the third sector
• • databases and portals
  • regulatory bodies and umbrella organisations
  • campaign advice
• Media
• • directories, portals and search engines
  • news agencies
  • individual media titles (broadcast – UK)
  • individual media titles (broadcast – global)
  • individual media titles (print and online-only)
  • media blogs
  • online radio and TV
  • radio and TV programme listings
  • audience, circulation and readership figures
  • media archives
  • media regulation
  • media mockery
• Reference
  • general reference
  • data, statistics and fact-checkers
  • converters (measurements, time zones and currencies)
  • dictionaries and translation tools
  • entertainment and retail
  • internet utilities
  • phone and post
  • travel
  • weather and climate
• Good writing
• And finally…

Click here to return to the home page.

Liberator in the news

• “Lib Dems face ‘political suicide’ over new strategist” (Daily Telegraph, 12 April 2013)
• “Diary: The great Lib Dem race farrago, aka the report that never was” (Guardian, 23 January 2013)
• Interview with Gareth Epps on ‘The Westminster Hour’ (BBC Radio 4, 13 January 2013)
• “Lib Dem plans to attack Tories as party of the rich revealed in leaked script” (Guardian, 29 December 2012)
• “Memo urges Lib Dems to criticise Tories” (BBC News website, 29 December 2012)
• “Nick Clegg’s much-mocked mea culpa shows he plans to remain as leader” (Guardian, 20 September 2012)
• Interview with Gareth Epps on ‘The Westminster Hour’ (BBC Radio 4, 9 September 2012)
• “Liberal Democrats uneasy over tactics for police commissioner elections” (Guardian, 17 January 2012)
• “Cut it out Danny, say Lib Dem peers” (Michael Crick’s blog, Channel 4 News, 28 December 2011)
• “Lib Dems will not fight police commissioner elections” (Michael Crick’s blog, Channel 4 News, 15 November 2011)
• “Lib Dem conference: portrait of a party in denial” (Guardian, 22 September 2011) – includes a complimentary review of the Liberator Songbook
• “Lib Dem conference: what does responsible capitalism actually mean? – video” (Guardian, 20 September 2011)
• “Liberal Democrat conference 2011: Marriages and metaphors – video” (Guardian, 19 September 2011)
• “Liberal Democrats Party Conference 2011: as it happened September 18” (Telegraph, 18 September 2011) – scroll down to “14.30”
• “Nick Clegg aides retreat from panto politics” (Guardian, 16 September 2011)
• “Good conference, bad conference” (Guardian, 24 September 2009) – scroll down to “John Harris”
• “Introducing the Ideology-o-meter” (Guardian, 22 September 2009) – video
• “Lib Dem conference: Monday” (Guardian, 21 September 2009) – scroll down to “10am”
• Interview with Simon Titley on ‘The Westminster Hour’ (BBC Radio 4, 9 August 2009)
• Interview with Simon Titley on ‘The Westminster Hour’ (BBC Radio 4, 14 September 2008)
• Interview with Simon Titley on ‘The Westminster Hour’ (BBC Radio 4, 29 June 2008)
• “Lib-Dems already running out of time, says Euro-MP” (Liverpool Daily Post, 15 September 2005)
• “Lib Dems begin blame game” (Guardian, 1 June 2005)
• “Low-key Kennedy cannot contain party glee” (Guardian, 24 September 2004)
• “Hain libel threat shown in papers” (BBC News website, 20 August 2004)
• “Heath officials pondered prosecuting Hain” (Guardian, 20 August 2004)
• “Looking to the right” (Guardian, 21 January 2002)

About Liberator

• Wikipedia’s article on Liberator
• Liberator’s blog
• Liberator’s Facebook group page – accessible only if you are logged in to Facebook
• Liberator on Twitter (@Liberator_mag)
• Liberator Collective opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice
• Lithosphere Print Production – Liberator’s printer

Blogs, websites, columns, op-eds and tweets of Liberator Collective members

• John Bryant – blog / Twitter
• Jonathan Calder – ‘Liberal England’ blog / ‘Serendib’ blog / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column / New Statesman column / opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice / Twitter
• Richard Clein – opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice / Twitter
• Gareth Epps – blog / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column / Independent’s ‘Independent Voices’ blog / opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice / Twitter
• Tim McNally – Twitter
• Kiron Reid – website / opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice
• Simon Titley – ‘The Liberal Dissenter’ blog / opinion pieces on Liberal Democrat Voice

Blogs, websites, columns and op-eds of regular contributors to Liberator

• Nick Barlow – ‘What You Can Get Away With’ blog
• Peter Black AM – blog / website
• Lord Bonkers – website
• David Boyle – ‘The Real Blog’ / nef blog / website / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column
• Prateek Buch – ‘consider, evaluate, act’ blog / Huffington Post blog / Left Foot Forward posts / New Statesman blog / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column
• Guy Burton – ‘Para Ingles Ver’ blog
• Chris Davies MEP – website
• Andrew Duff MEP – website
• Lynne Featherstone MP – blog / website
• Alex Folkes – ‘A Lanson Boy’ blog
• Jonathan Fryer – blog
• Matthew Gibson – ‘Solution Focused Politics’ blog
• Bernard Gowers – ‘Liberals Together’ blog
• David Grace – ‘Disgruntled Radical’ blog
• James Graham – ‘Quaequam Blog!’ / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column
• Richard Grayson – Huffington Post blog / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column
• David Hall-Matthews – Huffington Post blog / Guardian ‘Comment is free’ column
• Jeremy Hargreaves – blog
• John Hemming MP – blog / website
• Julian Huppert MP – website
• Richard Kemp – ‘But what does Richard Kemp think?’ blog
• Caron Lindsay – ‘Caron’s Musings’ blog
• Alex Marsh – ‘Alex’s Archives’ blog / ‘Alex’s Archives Bitesize’ blog
• Michael Meadowcroft – website
• Mark Pack – blog
• George Potter – ‘The Potter Blogger’ blog
• Adrian Sanders MP – blog / website
• Naomi Smith – Huffington Post blog
• Neil Stockley – blog / Posterous blog (December 2011-June 2012)
• Rebecca Tinsley – Huffington Post blog / website / Waging Peace website
• Sir Graham Watson MEP – website
• Chris White – blog
• Peter Wrigley – ‘Keynesian Liberal’ blog
• Stephen ‘Yolly’ Yolland – ‘Well, This Is What I Think’ blog

Liberal Democrat blogs and tweets

• Lib Dem Blogs – blogs aggregated chronologically
• LibDig – blogs aggregated by popularity
• Liberal Tweets – tweets aggregated chronologically
• Liberal Democrat Voice
• • Liberal Democrat Voice: Members’ Forum – private forum restricted to Liberal Democrat party members
  • The Election Law Channel – part of Liberal Democrat Voice, dedicated to coverage of UK election law
  • Liberal Democrat Voice on Twitter
• The Libertine – Liberal Youth’s blogging platform

Liberal Democrats (UK)

portals

• DMOZ Open Directory Project: Liberal Democrats
• Unofficial Web Directory of Liberal Democrat Sites

liberal values

• Preamble to the constitution of the Liberal Democrats
• Liberalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
• Social liberalism (Wikipedia)
• ‘What is Social Liberalism?’ (David Howarth)

party websites

• Liberal Democrats – official party site
• Scottish Liberal Democrats – official party site
• Welsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru – official party site
• Liberal Democrats: federal party conference
• Act: The Lib Dem Network
  • Engage: The Lib Dem Policy Network
• Liberal Democrats’ Facebook group
• Liberal Democrats’ Flickr photostream
• Liberal Democrats on Google+
• Liberal Democrats on Twitter
• Liberal Democrats’ official YouTube channel
• Liberal Democrats Flock Together – forthcoming events and by-elections
• Liberal Democrat Image – campaign materials and party merchandise
• Liberal Democrat internal election results since 1988
• Liberty Research – online polling resource for party members

English regional party websites

• Devon and Cornwall
• East of England – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
• East Midlands – Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (excluding parts formerly in Humberside), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland
• London
• North East – County Durham and Northumberland, including all the former county of Cleveland
• North West – Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire
• South Central – Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire
• South East – Kent, Surrey and Sussex
• West Midlands – Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire
• Western Counties – Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire
• Yorkshire and the Humber – excluding parts of Yorkshire formerly in Cleveland but including all the former county of Humberside

councillors and local government

• ALDC (Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors)
• • ASLDC (Association of Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillors)
  • Portal to websites of individual Liberal Democrat councillors
• LGA (Local Government Association) Liberal Democrat Group
  • Lists of Liberal Democrat council group leaders, majority-controlled councils and councils where the Liberal Democrats share power

associated organisations and ginger groups

• ALDES (Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists)
• ALTER (Liberal Democrat Action for Land Taxation and Economic Reform)
• Beveridge Group
• Campaign for Gender Balance
• EMLD (Ethnic Minorities Liberal Democrats)
• Grassroutes to Government
• Green Liberal Democrats
• LDDA (Liberal Democrat Disability Association)
• LDEA (Liberal Democrat Education Association)
• LDEG (Liberal Democrat European Group)
• LDLA (Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association)
• LGBT+ Liberal Democrats (Liberal Democrats for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Action)
• Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine
• Liberal Democrat History Group
• Liberal Democrats Online
• Liberal Left
• Liberal Reform
• Liberal Youth
• LIBG (Liberal International British Group)
• PCA (Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates Association)
• Social Liberal Forum
• Women Liberal Democrats

liberal periodicals in the UK

• Liberator – independent liberal magazine (and host of this website)
• Ad Lib – the party’s official monthly magazine
• Journal of Liberal History – quarterly magazine of the Liberal Democrat History Group
• The Liberal – irregularly-published independent liberal magazine covering politics and the arts

other liberal parties in the UK

• Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
• Liberal Party

other liberal-related organisations in the UK

• CentreForum – centre-right think tank
• Gladstone Club
• John Stuart Mill Institute
• Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust
• Liberal Insight – think tank
• Lloyd George Society
• National Liberal Club – members’ club in London

International Liberalism

Liberals in Europe

• ALDE Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) – transnational party comprising 54 liberal parties (from both EU-member and non-EU European countries, including the UK Liberal Democrats) [formerly known as ELDR (European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party)]
• • ALDE group in the European Parliament – alliance of MEPs from the ALDE Party and EDP
  • ALDE-PACE – ALDE group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  • LYMEC (European Liberal Youth) – youth wing of the ALDE Party
• EDP (European Democratic Party) – transnational party comprising 12 centrist parties from EU-member countries
• European Liberal Forum – think tank
• Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit – English-language site of the foundation for liberal politics in Germany
• Liberales – English-language site of the Belgian (Flemish) liberal think tank

Liberals beyond Europe

• Liberal International
• IFLRY (International Federation of Liberal Youth)
• INLW (International Network of Liberal Women)
• ALN (Africa Liberal Network) – network of 30 parties and organisations from 23 African countries
• AAFD (Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy) (formerly NAL, the Network of Arab Liberals) – network of liberal parties and activists in the Arab world
• CALD (Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats) – network of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia
• LiberalOasis – American liberal website and blog, with extensive collection of links
• RELIAL (Red Liberal de América Latina) – network of liberal political parties and organisations in Latin America; Spanish-language site

UK Liberal Democrats resident abroad or active internationally

• Liberal Democrats Abroad – organisation for members and supporters of the UK Liberal Democrats living overseas
• Brussels and Europe Liberal Democrats – local party for members of the UK Liberal Democrats resident in Europe outside the UK
• LDEG (Liberal Democrat European Group)
• LIBG (Liberal International British Group)

Liberal historical resources

• Liberal Democrat History Group
• Centre for Idealism and New Liberalism – research and teaching centre at the University of Hull’s Department of Politics and International Studies
• Gladstone’s Library – library and residential study centre in Hawarden, Wales
• ‘The Land’ song – a history, with audio and video clips
• Leaders of the Liberal Party (in the House of Commons) – list of Liberal, SDP and Liberal Democrat party leaders 1834-2006
• Liberal/SDP/Lib Dem Manifestos – texts of general election manifestos 1900-2001
• PSA: British Liberal Political Studies Group – co-ordinates and encourages academic study into British liberal politics (contemporary and historical)
• Dr Alun Wyburn-Powell – blog on British coalitions, political defections, liberal history

Influential liberal texts

• ‘Magna Carta’ (1215) – translation from the original Latin into modern English
• ‘Areopagitica’ (John Milton, 1644)
• ‘An Agreement of the People for a firm and present peace upon grounds of common right’ (The Levellers, 1647)
• ‘The Putney Debates’ (members of the New Model Army, 1647) – complete transcript
  • ‘The poorest he’ (Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, 1647) – speech in the Putney Debates
• ‘The Second Treatise of Government’ (John Locke, 1689)
• ‘The Spirit of the Laws’ (‘L’esprit des lois’) (Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, 1748) – translation of the second edition (1752) from the original French into English
• ‘An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation’ (Jeremy Bentham, 1780)
• ‘The Rights of Man’ (Thomas Paine, 1791)
• ‘Speeches on Questions of Public Policy’ Volume 1 (John Bright, 1845-68)
• ‘On Liberty’ (John Stuart Mill, 1859)
• ‘Midlothian Speeches’ (William Ewart Gladstone, 1879) – extract from the third speech
• ‘Progress and Poverty’ (Henry George, 1879)
• ‘Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation’ (T.H. Green, 1883)
• ‘The Radical Programme’ (Joseph Chamberlain, 1885)
• ‘Why I Am A Liberal’ (ed. Andrew Reid, 1885)
• ‘Essays in Liberalism’ (Six Oxford Men (incl. Hilaire Belloc), 1897)
• ‘Fields, Factories and Workshops’ (Prince Peter Kropotkin, 1899, revised 1912)
• ‘Imperialism: A Study’ (J.A. Hobson, 1902)
• ‘The Crisis of Liberalism: New Issues of Democracy’ (J.A. Hobson, 1909)
• ‘The Promise of American Life’ (Herbert Croly, 1909)
• ‘Liberalism’ (L.T. Hobhouse, 1911)
• ‘The Servile State’ (Hilaire Belloc, 1912)
• ‘The Paisley Policy’ (Herbert Henry Asquith, 1920)
• ‘Liberalism and Industry: Towards a Better Social Order’ (Ramsay Muir, 1921)
• ‘Essays in Liberalism’ (Liberal Summer School, 1922)
• ‘We Can Conquer Unemployment’ (David Lloyd George, 1929) – pdf (717 KB)
• ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money’ (John Maynard Keynes, 1935)
• ‘Social Insurance and Allied Services’ [‘The Beveridge Report’] (Sir William Beveridge, 1942) – pdf (4.64 MB)
• ‘The Open Society and Its Enemies’ Volume 1 (Karl Popper, 1945)
• ‘The Open Society and Its Enemies’ Volume 2 (Karl Popper, 1945)
• ‘The Oxford Manifesto’ (International Liberal Conference, 1947)
• ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ (Isaiah Berlin, 1958) – pdf (580.1 KB)
• ‘In Defence of Politics’ (Bernard Crick, 1962)
• ‘Port Huron Statement’ (Students for a Democratic Society, 1962)
• ‘I Have a Dream’ (Martin Luther King Jr., 1963) – speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, 28 August 1963
• ‘Towards the sound of gunfire’ (Jo Grimond, 1963) – leader’s speech to the Liberal Assembly, Brighton, 14 September 1963
• ‘I Am – Somebody’ (Jesse Jackson, 1971)
• ‘Small is Beautiful’ (E.F. Schumacher, 1973) – pdf (959.6 KB)
• ‘The New Liberty’ [Reith Lectures] (Ralf Dahrendorf, 1974) – audio files, with link to transcripts
• ‘You’re all individuals!’ [speech by Brian] (Monty Python’s Life of Brian, 1979) – video
• ‘The Theory & Practice of Community Politics’ (Bernard Greaves & Gordon Lishman, 1980)
• ‘Liberal Values for a New Decade’; ‘Social Democracy: Barrier or Bridge?’; ‘Liberalism and the Left’; ‘Liberalism and the Right’ (Michael Meadowcroft, 1980-83)
• ‘What is Social Liberalism?’ (David Howarth, 2007) – chapter 1 of ‘Reinventing the State’

Liberator would like to include links to other influential texts but they are currently unavailable online. These include: ‘Britain’s Industrial Future’ [aka ‘The Yellow Book’] (Report of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry, 1928); ‘Ownership for All’ (Elliott Dodds, 1938); ‘Confessions of an Economic Heretic’ (J.A. Hobson, 1938); ‘Why I am a Liberal’ (William Beveridge, 1945); ‘The Unservile State’ (ed. George Watson, 1957); ‘The Liberal Future’ (Jo Grimond, 1959); ‘Our Aim and Purpose’ (Donald Wade, 1961); ‘The Liberal Challenge’ (Jo Grimond, 1963); and various more recent works still protected by copyright.

Interesting ideas

• Arts & Letters Daily
• The Browser
  • Five Books
• Creative Class (Richard Florida)
• Adam Curtis: ‘The Medium and the Message’ [BBC blog]
• Frank Furedi
• Anatole Kaletsky
• John Kay
• Paul Krugman
• London Review of Books
• The Long Now Foundation
• Meades Shrine (Jonathan Meades) – collection of videos
• nef (New Economics Foundation)
• The New Yorker
• Oblique Strategies
• Open Democracy
• Project Syndicate
• Prospect magazine
• Robert Reich
• RSA (Royal Society of Arts)
  • RSA Animate
• Robert Skidelsky
• David Smail
• Spiked
• Joseph Stiglitz
• A Strategy for Losers
• Systems Thinking for Service Organisations
• TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design)
• Slavoj Žižek’s Archive

Think tanks (UK)

• Wikipedia: List of think tanks in the United Kingdom – portal
• CentreForum
• Chatham House
• Civitas: the Institute for the Study of Civil Society
• Constitution Unit (UCL)
• Demos
• European Council on Foreign Relations
• Institute for Government
• INET (Institute for New Economic Thinking)
• IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research)
• JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation)
• LGiU (Local Government Information Unit)
• Liberal Insight
• nef (New Economics Foundation)
• ResPublica
• RSA (Royal Society of Arts)
• Schumacher Center for a New Economics
• Who Funds You? – promotes funding transparency among think tanks

The opposition (UK)

Labour

• Labour Party – official site
• Co-operative Party – official site
• Compass
• Labour Home
• Labour List
• Left Foot Forward

Conservatives

• Conservative Party – official site
• Conservative Home
• Coffee House: the Spectator blog

Nationalists and other parties

• Plaid Cymru (the Party of Wales) – official site
• SNP (Scottish National Party) – official site
• Green Party – official site
• UKIP (UK Independence Party) – official site

Industrial and union organisations (UK)

• BCC (British Chambers of Commerce)
• CBI (Confederation of British Industry)
• Co-operatives UK
• EOA (Employee Ownership Association)
• FSB (Federation of Small Businesses)
• LRD (Labour Research Department)
• TUC (Trades Union Congress)
• STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress)

Political profilers (work out where you stand politically)

• Political Compass – plots your ideology on a two-dimensional grid
• EU Profiler – compares your views to those of national parties throughout the EU
• Vote Match Europe – compares your views to those of pan-EU party blocs
• Vote Match UK – compares your views to those of parties in the UK

Political portals

• BBC: Links to UK political websites
• The Guardian: Political links: net guide
• Oultwood: international local government web index – portal to regional and local authorities worldwide
• Political Resources on the Net
• Political Science Resources
• Political Studies Association: Politics Portal
• UK Pol: British Politics Page
• UK Political Info: Political Links
• Wikipedia: Politics Portal

Political speeches and oratory

• British Political Speech – archive of speeches
• American Rhetoric – archive of speeches; also background on rhetoric
• Max Atkinson’s Blog – on speaking, presentation and communication in general
• Great political speeches: The New Statesman’s top ten UK political speeches
• Speeches (Total Politics) – recent speeches by British politicians
• Top 25 political speeches of all time: 12 to 1 (Daily Telegraph)
• Top 25 political speeches of all time: 25 to 13 (Daily Telegraph)
• UK Speechwriters’ Guild

Political leaders worldwide

• Rulers – lists of heads of state and heads of government of all countries and territories, since about 1700
• Zárate’s Political Collections – data on political leaders and governments since 1945

UK governments and parliaments

governments

• GOV.UK – official portal to government and public services
• List of Government departments and ministers
• Coalition documentation – ‘Programme for government’ and ‘Agreement for stability and reform’ (May 2010)
• The British Monarchy – the Queen’s official site
• 10 Downing Street – the Prime Minister’s official site
• Deputy Prime Minister – official site
• UK Civil Service – official site
• Downing Street Says – unofficial site providing summaries of the daily briefings given by the prime minister’s spokesman to lobby journalists
• The Government Says – unofficial site that makes government news releases easy to find and easy to scan through quickly
• Scottish Government / Riaghaltas na h-Alba – official site
• Welsh Government / Llywodraeth Cymru – official site
• Government in Northern Ireland – official portal to the Northern Ireland Executive and other parts of government
• London.gov.uk – official portal to Greater London Authority, Mayor of London and London Assembly

parliaments and assemblies

• UK Parliament – official site for the House of Commons and House of Lords
• • Hansard – verbatim reports of parliamentary debates in the Commons (since November 1988) and Lords (since November 1995)
  • Hansard 1803-2005 – searchable database of verbatim reports of parliamentary debates (Commons and Lords)
  • Parliament TV – live and archived video and audio coverage of parliamentary proceedings
  • Research briefings – produced by the Libraries of the Commons and Lords
• UK Members of Parliament, 2010-2015 – complete list of all current MPs, including website addresses
• Ask Aristotle (The Guardian) – information about MPs, ministers, election candidates and parliamentary activity
• Leigh Rayment’s Peerage Page – historical data on peerages, MPs, orders of chivalry and privy councils
• IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) – oversight and control over MPs’ expenses; site includes searchable database
• Official Documents – Command Papers presented to parliament and House of Commons Papers
• BBC Democracy Live – live and recorded TV coverage of the Commons, Lords, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly and also the European Parliament and London Assembly
• Scottish Parliament / Pàrlamaid na h-Alba – official site
• National Assembly for Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru – official site
• Northern Ireland Assembly – official site
• London Assembly – official site

legislation

• Legislation.gov.uk – database of all UK statute law currently in force
• Bills before Parliament – track progress or read texts of all Bills currently going through the UK Parliament

UK local government

• UK Local Government Information – portal to local authority sites
• Local Council Political Compositions – up-to-date data on the political composition and leadership of every local authority in Great Britain
• Community Rights – UK government website aimed at helping communities to shape local services
• info4local.gov.uk – UK government website providing local authorities with a one-stop gateway to information from central government departments, agencies and public bodies
• Openly Local – project to develop an open and unified way of accessing local government information
• LGA (Local Government Association) – umbrella body for principal councils in England and Wales
  • WLGA / CLILC (Welsh Local Government Association / Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru) – umbrella body for principal councils in Wales
• COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) – umbrella body for principal councils in Scotland
• NILGA (Northern Ireland Local Government Association) – umbrella body for principal councils in Northern Ireland
• NALC (National Association of Local Councils) – umbrella body for community, parish and town councils in England
• ASCC (Association of Scottish Community Councils) – umbrella body for community councils in Scotland
• One Voice Wales / Un Llais Cymru – umbrella body for community and town councils in Wales
• LGiU (Local Government Information Unit) – membership-based think tank for local authorities

UK government auditors

• NAO (National Audit Office) – audits public spending by central government
• Audit Commission – audits local government and other local agencies in England
• Audit Scotland – audits all public bodies in Scotland (except UK-level government)
• Wales Audit Office / Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru – audits all public bodies in Wales (except UK-level government)
• NIAO (Northern Ireland Audit Office) – audits all public bodies in Northern Ireland (except UK-level government)

UK electoral administration and boundaries

• Electoral Commission
• Boundary Commission for England
• Boundary Commission for Scotland
• Boundary Commission for Wales / Comisiwn Ffiniau i Gymru
• Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
• Local Government Boundary Commission for England
• Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland
• Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales / Comisiwn Ffiniau Llywodraeth Leol i Gymru
• Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland
• Ordnance Survey: election maps – maps of constituency and local authority boundaries

UK ombudsmen

• How to use an ombudsman in England – portal to (and advice about using) all ombudsmen in England
• How to use an ombudsman or commissioner in Scotland – portal to (and advice about using) all ombudsmen in Scotland
• How to use an ombudsman in Wales – portal to (and advice about using) all ombudsmen in Wales
• How to use an ombudsman in Northern Ireland – portal to (and advice about using) all ombudsmen in Northern Ireland
• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman – considers complaints about government departments, a range of other public bodies in the UK, and the NHS in England
• SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) – considers complaints about public services in Scotland
• Public Services Ombudsman for Wales / Ombwdsmon Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Cymru – considers complaints about public services in Wales
• Northern Ireland Ombudsman – considers complaints about public services in Northern Ireland
• LGO (Local Government Ombudsman) – considers complaints about council services in England
• Financial Ombudsman Service – considers complaints about financial services in the UK

UK regulators

• Wikipedia: Regulators of the United Kingdom – portal
• Environment Agency – public body that protects the environment in England and Wales
• SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) – public body that protects the environment in Scotland
• NIEA (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) – public body that protects the environment in Northern Ireland
• EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) – public body responsible for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws
• FSA (Financial Services Authority) – independent body that regulates the financial services industry
• HSE (Health and Safety Executive) – public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare

UK transparency and lobbying

• Information Commissioner’s Office – official independent authority to uphold information rights
• Scottish Information Commissioner – official independent authority responsible for freedom of information in Scotland
• ALT (Alliance for Lobbying Transparency) – alliance of civil society groups concerned about the growing influence of lobbying on decision-making in the UK
• Fix My Street – street fault reporting
• Hear From Your MP – encourages dialogue between MPs and groups of constituents
• Open Corporates – brings together government information about companies worldwide
• Openly Local – project to develop an open and unified way of accessing local government information
• Petition Your Council – an easy way to petition your local council
• The Public Whip – find out how your MP voted
• SpinWatch – monitors lobbying, public relations and spin
• They Work For You – find out what your MP, MSP or MLA is doing
• What Do They Know? – make or explore Freedom of Information requests
• Where Does My Money Go? – shows where taxpayers’ money is spent
• Who Funds You? – promotes funding transparency among think tanks
• Who’s Lobbying? – information on lobbying activity
• Write To Them – contact your councillors, MP, MEPs, MSPs, or Northern Ireland, Welsh and London AMs
• Your Next MP – data on parliamentary candidates

European Union

EU portals

• Europa – official portal to EU websites
• • EU institutions and other bodies – official portal to all the EU’s institutions, with a brief description of each body’s function
  • Europe Direct – official portal to EU information and advice services
  • How the EU works – official portal to basic information about the EU
• EurActiv – unofficial media portal covering EU news and the policy positions of various EU actors

EU institutions

• European Council
• Council of the European Union
• European Commission
• European Parliament
• Court of Justice of the European Union
• Committee of the Regions
• European Ombudsman

EU legislation

• EUR-Lex – searchable database of all EU law
• European Parliament: Legislative Observatory – track progress of all EU legislation

EU-UK liaison

• European Commission Representation in the UK
  • The EU: What’s in it for me? – “A No-Nonsense Guide for UK Citizens to what the European Union Delivers”
• European Parliament Information Office in the UK
• UK Permanent Representation to the EU

EU transparency and lobbying

• ALTER-EU (Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation)
• Ask the EU – make requests for information
• Corporate Europe Observatory – research and campaign group that exposes and challenges corporate lobbying
• It’s Your Parliament.eu – monitor how MEPs vote
• Parltrack – track dossiers through the EU legislative process
• Political Memory – voting records and contact details of MEPs
• VoteWatch.eu – monitor how MEPs vote

EU-related advocacy campaigns

• British Influence – independent advocacy campaign to increase British influence in Europe
• Business for New Europe – coalition of UK business leaders articulating a positive case for reform in Europe
• European Movement International – pan-European association promoting European integration
• • European Movement [UK]
  • YEM (Young European Movement) [UK]
• Union of European Federalists – pan-European campaign for a federal Europe
  • Young European Federalists (JEF – Jeunes Européens Fédéralistes) – pan-European political youth organisation promoting European integration

EU-related think tanks

• CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) – indepedent, Brussels-based think tank
• CER (Centre for European Reform) – indepedent, London-based think tank
• EPC (European Policy Centre) – independent, Brussels-based think tank

EU-related news media

• EurActiv – portal to news stories and policy positions
• EU News – official EU site with daily news from the EU institutions
• EuroparlTV – the European Parliament’s official web television service
• EUbusiness
• Euro Correspondent
• EU Observer
• Euronews – pan-European TV news channel
• European Voice – weekly newspaper for EU policy-makers and lobbyists
• EUROPP – London School of Economics blog about European politics and policy
• Eurozine
• A Fistful of Euros – blog about European issues
• New Europe
• Public Service Europe

Euromyths refuted

• EU Myths – Some Things The EU Doesn’t Do – searchable list of urban legends
• Euromyths and Letters to the Editor – media falsehoods refuted by the European Commission Representation in the UK
• Euromyths (Catherine Bearder MEP)
• Euromyths Debunked (Andrew Duff MEP)

Other pan-European bodies (non-EU)

• Council of Europe – association of 47 European countries (signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights)
• • European Court of Human Rights
  • PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe)
• CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions) – association of local and regional government from 40 European countries
• EBU (European Broadcasting Union) – association of 85 public service broadcasters in 56 countries in and around Europe
  • Eurovision Song Contest
• EFTA (European Free Trade Association) – association of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland

Global intergovernmental organisations

• Wikipedia: List of intergovernmental organizations – portal
• United Nations
• • ILO (International Labour Organization)
  • UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
  • UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
  • UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)
  • WHO (World Health Organization)
• The Commonwealth
• La Francophonie
• G-20 (Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors)
• IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
• IMF (International Monetary Fund)
• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
• OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
• World Bank Group
• WTO (World Trade Organization)

Elections and opinion polls

elections worldwide

• Election Guide (IFES) – forthcoming elections around the world
• Election Resources on the Internet – portal to election sites worldwide
• European Election Database (NSD) – facilitates comparative research on elections in Europe
• Parties and Elections in Europe – database about parliamentary elections since 1945 and political parties
• PARLINE: Recent elections (IPU) – results for every parliamentary election in the world
• Voter Turnout (IDEA) – worldwide voter turnout statistics since 1945

election results (UK)

• Wikipedia: List of United Kingdom general elections – including portal to individual election pages
• United Kingdom Election Results – data up to 2005
• UK Political Info – political and electoral data since 1945
• UK election historic turnouts since 1918 (The Guardian) – portal to turnout data for all types of election
• LGC Elections Centre: local election results – overall results 1996-2008; also turnouts 1973-2005
• Local Authority Byelection Results – 1996 to date; updated weekly
• London Elects: results and past elections – London mayoral and assembly election results since 2000
• May 2013: local elections (BBC News)
• November 2012: Police and Crime Commissioner elections (BBC News)
• May 2012: London mayoral/assembly and local elections; and mayoral referendums (BBC News)
• May 2011: Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Irish Assembly and local elections; and AV referendum (BBC News)
• March 2011: Welsh referendum on Assembly powers (BBC News)
• May 2010: general election: the ultimate results maps (The Guardian)
• May 2010: general election (BBC News)
• May 2010: local elections (BBC News)
• June 2009: European Parliament and local elections (BBC News)
• May 2008: London mayoral election: how the city voted, mapped (The Guardian)
• May 2008: London mayoral/assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• May 2007: Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• March 2007: Northern Irish Assembly elections (BBC News)
• May 2006: local elections (BBC News)
• May 2005: general election (BBC News)
• May 2005: English local elections (BBC News)
• May 2005: Northern Irish local elections (BBC News)
• June 2004: European Parliament, London mayoral/assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• November 2003: Northern Irish Assembly elections (BBC News)
• May 2003: Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• May 2002: local elections (BBC News)
• June 2001: general election (BBC News)
• June 2001: English local elections (BBC News)
• June 2001: Northern Irish local elections (BBC News)
• May 2000: London mayoral/assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• June 1999: European Parliament elections (BBC News)
• May 1999: Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and local elections (BBC News)
• June 1998: Northern Irish Assembly elections (BBC News)
• May 1998: local elections (BBC News)
• September 1997: Scottish and Welsh devolution referendums (BBC News)
• May 1997: general election (BBC News)
• 1945 to 1997: general elections (BBC News)

election literature (UK)

• British Election Ephemera Archive – digital archive of election leaflets, posters, postcards and newsletters
• ElectionLeaflets.org – real-time election leaflet monitoring

opinion polls and political analysis

• UK Polling Report – overview and analysis of current opinion polls
• British Social Attitudes Survey – annual survey tracking people’s changing social, political and moral attitudes
• State of the Nation Survey 2010 (ICM on behalf of Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust) – survey of opinion in Great Britain on constitutional issues
• European Commission: Public Opinion – EU-wide surveys and studies, including the biannual ‘Eurobarometer’ survey
• Edelman Trust Barometer – annual global survey of public trust in four key institutions: government, business, media and NGOs
• Opinion polls spreadsheet: 1943-today (Mark Pack) – national voting intention opinion polls in the UK
• Ipsos MORI
• • How Britain Voted Since October 1974 – overview 1974-2010; breakdown of vote by gender, age and social class
  • How Britain Voted in 2010 – breakdown of vote by gender, age, social class and housing tenure
  • How Britain Voted in 2005 – breakdown of vote by gender, age, social class and housing tenure
  • How Britain Voted in 2001 – breakdown of vote by gender, age, social class and housing tenure
  • How Britain Voted in 1997 – breakdown of vote by gender, age, social class and housing tenure
• British Election Study (University of Essex) – psephological studies of UK general elections
• Pippa Norris Data: Shared datasets – links to election data
• Political Betting.com – inside tips for political gamblers

quality of democracy (UK)

• Democratic Audit – education and research into the quality and effectiveness of UK democracy
  • How Democratic is the UK? The 2012 Audit
• Hansard Society – education and research into strengthening parliamentary democracy and encouraging greater public involvement in politics
  • Audit of Political Engagement – annual survey of public attitudes and behaviour regarding interest and participation in politics
• Home Office: Access to elected office for disabled people – support to disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials
• ‘Power to the People: an independent inquiry into Britain’s democracy’ (Power Inquiry, 2006) – full report
  • ‘Power to the People: an independent inquiry into Britain’s democracy’ (Power Inquiry, 2006) – executive summary

Online democracy

• DoWire.Org (Democracies Online) – the most important global site for news and developments about the convergence of democracy and the internet
• Digital Engagement Cookbook – comprehensive toolbox of digital engagement methods
• E-Democracy.org – encourages civic engagement online through over 50 issues forums
  • E-Democracy.org UK – neighbourhood-level forums in the UK
• E-Government Bulletin – the UK’s leading e-mail newsletter on internet, government and politics
• Global Digital Download (Internews) – aggregates news about internet freedom
• Hansard Society: Digital Democracy – studies of the social and political impact of digital media
• PoliticsOnline – news, tools and strategies for using the internet and new technology in the civic sector

Campaigning and the third sector

databases and portals

• CharitiesDirect – financial information, market intelligence and analysis of the UK charity sector
• Charity Choice – searchable database (mainly for donors and volunteers) of UK charitable organisations
• Fake Charities – tracks UK charities that receive more than 10% of their income from the government while also lobbying the government
• GuideStar UK – information about charities registered in England and Wales
• Open Charities – project to open up the information on the UK’s Register of Charities
• Wikipedia: Charities based in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: British disability organisations – portal
• Wikipedia: Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: LGBT organisations in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: Non-governmental organisations based in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: Political pressure groups of the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: Philanthropic organisations based in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: List of pressure groups in the United Kingdom – portal
• Wikipedia: Women’s organisations in the United Kingdom – portal

regulatory bodies and umbrella organisations

• CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) – provides services and assistance to charities
• Charity Commission / Comisiwn Elusennau – regulatory body for England and Wales
• OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) – regulatory body for Scotland
• Charity Commission for Northern Ireland – regulatory body for Northern Ireland
• Fundraising Standards Board – independent self-regulatory body for fundraising in the UK charity sector
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) – umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England
• SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) – umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Scotland
• WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action / Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfoddol Cymru) – umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Wales
• NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) – umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland

campaign advice

• Battlefront’s Guide to Campaigning – from Channel 4’s Battlefront project to help young people campaign
• Campaign Central – resources, tips, information and networking for campaigners
• Campaign Strategy – general campaign advice from Chris Rose
• Campus Activism – compendium of how-to-organise campaign resources
• Community Planning – tools to help people shape their local environment
• Cultural Dynamics – explains the importance of people’s values as a motivating factor
• Louder – tools for e-campaigners
• NCVO: Campaigning and influencing resources – practical guides to various aspects of campaigning

Media

directories, portals and search engines

• Media UK – directory of UK media and media owners
• BBC Radio – portal to all BBC radio stations
• BBC TV – portal to all BBC TV stations
• British Media Online – portal to UK newspaper websites
• British Newspapers Online – portal to UK newspaper, magazine and trade press websites, with background information on each title
• Churnalism.com – ‘churn engine’ to detect what percentage of an article in the UK national press is cut and pasted from a given press release
• Frequency Finder – radio frequencies for the UK and Ireland
• Journalisted – search for journalists; and search articles published on UK national media websites by journalist, news outlet, subject or key word
• Kidon Media Links – global media portal
• Radio-Locator – global radio station portal
• Google News (UK) – search engine

news agencies

• Press Association
• Reuters (UK edition)

individual media titles (broadcast- UK)

• BBC News
• BBC Radio 4
  • Today
  • The Westminster Hour
• BBC1 TV
  • This Week
• BBC2 TV
• • Daily and Sunday Politics
  • Daily Politics
  • Newsnight
• BBC3 TV
• BBC4 TV
• BBC Parliament
• ITV
• Channel 4
  • Channel 4 News
• Channel 5
• IRN (Independent Radio News)
• ITN (Independent Television News)
• Sky News

individual media titles (broadcast – global)

• Al Jazeera – English-language site
• BBC World News TV
• BBC World Service Radio
• CCTV News (China Central Television) – English-language site
• Comedy Central – UK edition
  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Deutsche Welle – English-language site
• CNN – international edition
• Euronews – English-language site
• France 24 – English-language site
• RT (Russia Today) – English-language site
• TRT World (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) – English-language site
• TV5 Monde – French-language only
• TVE Internacional – Spanish-language only

individual media titles (print and online-only)

• The Guardian & The Observer
• Hold the Front Page – UK regional journalism
• The Huffington Post (UK edition)
• The Independent
• New Scientist
• New Statesman
• The New York Times
• PoliticsHome
• Press Gazette
• Private Eye
• Red Pepper
• Spectator
• The Telegraph (Daily and Sunday)
• Total Politics
• United Nations: Ten stories the world should hear more about
• World Environment News (Reuters and Planet Ark)

media blogs

• BBC Blog Network – portal to blogs by the BBC’s reporters and presenters
• Channel 4 Blogs – portal to blogs by Channel 4’s reporters and presenters
• Comment is Free – portal to blogs by the Guardian’s journalists and columnists, and other contributors
• Guardian Economics Blog – by the Guardian’s economics team
• Independent Blogs – portal to blogs by The Independent’s journalists and columnists
• Telegraph Blogs – portal to blogs by The Telegraph’s journalists and columnists
• Boulton & Co – Sky News Political Team
• Benedict Brogan – deputy editor, Daily Telegraph
• Michael Crick – political correspondent, Channel 4 News
• Stephanie Flanders – economics editor, BBC News
• David Hencke – freelance
• Paul Mason – economics editor, Newsnight (BBC2)
• Robert Peston – business editor, BBC News
• John Rentoul – chief political commentator, Independent on Sunday
• Nick Robinson – political editor, BBC News
• Mark Urban – diplomatic and defence editor, Newsnight (BBC2)
• Paul Waugh (‘The Waugh Room’) – editor, PoliticsHome
• Michael White – assistant editor, The Guardian
• Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt – political editor and chief political correspondent, The Guardian

online radio and TV

• BBC Democracy Live – live and recorded coverage of parliaments and assemblies in the UK and also the European Parliament
  • Global Parliaments online – portal to live broadcasts from parliaments across the world
• BBC iPlayer: radio – radio on demand (all BBC radio stations)
• BBC iPlayer: TV – TV on demand (all BBC TV channels) (works only in the UK)
• ITV Player – TV on demand (works only in the UK)
• Channel 4: 4oD – TV on demand (works only in the UK)
• Channel 5: Demand 5 – TV on demand (works only in the UK)
• Radio Player – portal to online radio players for all UK radio stations
• TV-replay – portal to TV shows online for all UK TV stations

radio and TV programme listings

• UK radio listings schedule (Radio Times)
• UK TV listings schedule (Radio Times)

audience, circulation and readership figures

• ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) UK press circulation (via the Guardian) – sales figures
• ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) UK press circulation (via Press Gazette) – sales figures
• National Readership Survey: Latest Top Line Readership – readership figures (i.e. readers as opposed to sales) for UK press
• BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) – official body measuring UK television audiences
• RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) – official body measuring UK radio audiences

media archives

• BBC Archive – themed collections of radio and TV programmes, documents and photographs
• BBC Motion Gallery: BBC Archive – footage from the BBC, CBS News and others
• British Library: Newspaper Collections
• British Pathé – newsreel archive from 1896 to 1976
• Election battles 1945-1997 – video and audio clips from the BBC archives
• ITN Source – archive footage from Reuters, ITN, ITV Productions and others
• Media UK: Newspaper archives to be found online – portal
• Spectator Archive – searchable archive of every edition of The Spectator from 1828 to 2008

media regulation

• ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) – independent body responsible for self-regulation of the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK
• BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) – independent body responsible for the classification and censorship of films within the UK
• Ofcom (Office of Communications) – independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries
• PCC (Press Complaints Commission) – independent body administering self-regulation of the UK press

media mockery

• Angry people in local newspapers
• Dull News in Local Newspapers
• Daily Mail-o-matic – a new Daily Mail headline every time you click the button
• The (New) Daily Mail Oncological Ontology Project
• Kill or cure? Help to make sense of the Daily Mail’s ongoing effort to classify every inanimate object into those that cause cancer and those that prevent it

Reference

general reference

• Wikipedia
• The WWW Virtual Library
• The World Factbook (CIA)
• Internet Archive – including the Wayback Machine

data, statistics and fact-checkers

• UK National Statistics – official portal to UK government statistics
• ONS (Office for National Statistics) – UK government department that collects and publishes statistics
• data.gov.uk: Opening up government – gateway to UK public sector datasets (raw data)
• IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) – independent research body that analyses public finances in the UK
• National Archives – the UK government’s official archive
• UK Data Service – access to UK economic and social data [formerly ESDS (Economic and Social Data Service)]
• Eurostat – statistical office of the European Union, providing pan-EU statistics
• OECD statistics – worldwide economic statistics
• FT Economic Calendar – forthcoming publication dates for economic data and reports
• Bad Science – Dr Ben Goldacre’s blog unpicking dodgy scientific claims
• Datablog (The Guardian) – data journalism and data visualisation
• The FactCheck Blog (Channel 4 News) – scrutinises political claims and separates fact from fiction
• Full Fact – fact checks for claims made in current British political debates
• Gapminder – international facts and data
• More or Less (BBC Radio 4) – explains, and sometimes debunks, the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life
• Open Spending – tracks government financial transactions from around the world
• Snopes.com – verify urban legends, folklore, myths, rumours and misinformation
• Straight Statistics – exposes the distortion and misuse of statistical information
• Tabloid Watch – blog that refutes media falsehoods
• UK Debt Statistics (Credit Action) – monthly statistics on the levels of personal and government debt

converters (measurements, time zones and currencies)

• Convert-me – measurement converter
• Time and Date – worldwide time zones and calendars
• World Time Server – worldwide times and time zones
• XE Universal Currency Converter

dictionaries and translation tools

• Bing Translator – translates blocks of text and web pages
• Cambridge Dictionaries Online – English dictionary and thesaurus
• Dictionary of Slang – UK slang and colloquialisms
• Financial Times Lexicon – economic, financial and business jargon explained
• Foreignword.com – dictionaries and translations for 60+ languages
• Forvo – pronunciation guide to words in about 300 languages
• InternetSlang.com – dictionary of internet and computer slang
• Latin Phrases – Latin phrases, sayings and expressions
• Oxford Dictionaries – English dictionary and word translator
• The Phrase Finder – English phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions
• RhymeZone – dictionary of rhymes and synonyms
• Urban Dictionary – dictionary of new words

entertainment and retail

• AMG (All Music Guide) – searchable database of recorded music
• The Book Guide – directory of secondhand bookshops in the UK
• IMDb (Internet Movie Database) – searchable database of movies and TV
• Opening Times – search for opening times of shops and businesses throughout the UK
• UK Cinemas – cinema listings
• UK Theatres – theatre listings

internet utilities

• Bitly / Google url shortener / TinyURL – url shorteners
• BT hotspot directory / myHotspots – wi-fi hotspot locators
• Down for everyone or just me? – check whether any website is down
• Download.com (CNET) – portal to software downloads, with reviews
• Hide My Ass! – free web proxy and other anonymous services
• Hoax-Slayer / Virus Hoaxes (McAfee) / Hoaxes (Symantec) / Virus Hoaxes & Realities (Snopes) – check whether any virus warning is a hoax
• Speedtest.net (global broadband speed test) / uSwitch (UK broadband speed test) – test the speed of your broadband connection
• Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) – browse library of webpages from the past (since 1996)
• WHOIS (Network Solutions) – search for domain registration information

phone and post

• Royal Mail postcode finder
• MPS (Mail Preference Service) – UK official central opt out register for stopping unsolicited mail
• TPS (Telephone Preference Service) – UK official central opt out register for stopping unsolicited sales or marketing phone calls
• Please Press 1 – explains what options to press so that you don’t need to listen to the full call centre menu options
• Say No to 0870 – list of alternative geographical numbers for 0500, 0800, 0808, 0842, 0843, 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871, 0872 and 0873 numbers
• United Kingdom Directories – portal to UK phone directories (white and yellow pages)

travel

• Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory – portal to official tourist information sources
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office: Travel advice by country – country-by-country guide to safety, visa requirements and healthcare
• Global Electric & Phone Directory – guide to the different phone, electrical and TV systems used worldwide
• BBC Travel News – regularly updated travel news for the UK
• Direct Enquiries – the Nationwide Access Register – searchable database of disabled access to public transport, hotels and other amenities in the UK
• Trip Advisor – reviews of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions worldwide
• Hotels Combined / Trivago – metasearch engines to compare hotel prices worldwide
• Day-tripper.net – advice for cross-channel shopping trips
• The Man in Seat Sixty-One – how to travel by train or ship anywhere in the world
• DB (Deutsche Bahn) train journey planner – train times for all of Europe
• National Rail Enquiries – train times and fares throughout Great Britain
• Transport Direct – journey planner for all modes of transport throughout Great Britain
• Traveline – journey planner and timetables for local public transport throughout the UK
• National Cycle Network (Sustrans) – cycling routes throughout the UK (including online mapping tool)
• Bing Maps – searchable maps worldwide
• Streetmap.co.uk – street and road map search for Great Britain (using Ordnance Survey maps)
• Via Michelin – route planner, driving directions and road maps worldwide
• AA Route Planner – driving directions for the UK and Europe
• Amadeus – search for flights between any two airports worldwide
• Matrix Airfare Search / Skyscanner / Which Budget – search for budget flights worldwide
• To and From the Airport.com – how to get to and from airports worldwide by taxi or public transport; also details of car rental and parking

weather and climate

• BBC Weather – forecasts
• Climate Ark – climate change and global warming portal
• Climate Change (BBC News: Special Report)
• Met Office – the UK’s national weather service
• Real Climate – blog on climate science by climate scientists
• Skeptical Science – scientific rebuttal of claims by climate change sceptics
• The Weather Channel – forecasts
• Weather Underground – forecasts

Good writing

• E-Editor
• Guardian ‘Mind Your Language’ blog
• ‘Let’s run this up the flagpole and see who salutes’ (Simon Titley, 1998) – essay on business jargon
• Plain English Campaign
• ‘Politics and the English Language’ (George Orwell, 1946) – essay
• ‘Why I Write’ (George Orwell, 1946) – essay
• Visual Thesaurus
• World Wide Words

And finally…

• Anagram Genius: United Kingdom Politics
• Glum Councillors
• Nobby Shuttleworth’s Facebook page
• Polo’s Travels
• The Last Page of the Internet

Happy surfing!