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Keep up with our news, analysis and features on the 2015 General Election
Will a majority Conservative Government be good for the PR industry? Vote in our poll
Do you think the Tories will provide any benefits for the PR industry? Now is your chance to vote in a PRWeek poll.
Voters prefer Cameron to nice guy Miliband
The narratives woven by British political party leaders over the past few weeks of campaigning produced vastly different results and culminated in three of them resigning soon after the election ended in triumph for the Conservatives.
Which PR professionals won seats in the 2015 general election?
It was a disastrous night for the industry professionals standing for Parliament yesterday.
General election 2015: Brands piggyback on election day hype
Companies have jumped on the #GE2015 hashtag in an attempt to increase their exposure on social media.
Tesco comms chief contests seat for Parliament against Diane Abbott
A senior Tesco comms chief is a parliamentary candidate for Hackney in the general election, PRWeek has learned.
The Telegraph makes 'accidental' UKIP advertising gaffe
The Daily Telegraph is the latest national newspaper to make a politically related PR slip-up due to an apparent lack of communication between the editorial and advertising teams.
Head of PR at The Sun plays down accusations of hypocrisy after front-page debacle
The Sun has denied accusations it is being two-faced after the English and Scottish front pages contradicted each other by supporting rival political parties.
Should companies get involved in general elections?
A few weeks ago, I was with the head of a medium-sized firm when he was asked to sign a letter to a national newspaper in support of a political party.
Six more industry pros throw their hat in the ring for seat in Parliament
Six more industry professionals are running as parliamentary candidates in the general election, PRWeek has learned.
Can #Milifandom give Labour the edge?
Labour leader Ed Miliband received a surprising boost in popularity this week after the #Milifandom hashtag took off on Twitter. But will this digital support translate into votes come 7 May?
Winning the election will be the easy part for the next Secretary of State for Health
The 'lucky' winner of the post of next Health Secretary will take over a service facing unprecedented but not unpredictable demand for NHS care from a population living longer (often with increasingly complex health and care needs), and with little spare cash to pay for it.
Conservatives top 'Polifiller' manifesto check with 200 clichés
The Conservative Party's 'Big Society' mantra came out on top after Houston PR ran all available party manifestos through its 'automated political cliché removal tool'.
Labour pledges to end "scandalous" long-term unpaid internships
Labour's plan to end long-term unpaid internships if it wins the election has been welcomed by the PRCA.
Sturgeon trounces rivals in BBC debate, social media analysis shows
Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the SNP, 'won' last night's BBC political debate according to a social media analysis by FleishmanHillard.
Labour's pledge to abolish Lobbying Act garners industry and charity support
Labour's general election manifesto, published yesterday, reiterated the party's commitment to repeal the Lobbying Act and "replace it with a tougher statutory register of lobbyists".
Race rows, punch-ups and car-crash interviews: Top election PR gaffes
With the 2015 election campaign in full swing, leaders of all the political parties are under scrutiny and there are bound to be numerous PR gaffes before votes are cast on 7 May. We look at some of the biggest blunders, mishaps and strategy missteps we've seen so far and look back at some classics from previous years.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon 'wins' election debate as UKIP's Nigel Farage fluffs his lines
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon came out as the overall winner of the seven-way political leaders' debate held last Thursday (2 April), according to two separate studies.
SNP MP Pete Wishart named 'Parliamentary Tweeter of the Year'
The 2015 Political Twitter Awards have named SNP MP Pete Wishart 'Parliamentary Tweeter of the Year', beating Respect MP George Galloway who came second and Green MP Caroline Lucas, who came third.
Labour has most user-friendly website of main parties, says Quirk London research
The Labour Party website offers the best user experience of any site among the five main political parties, new research suggests.
UKIP woos second BBC producer to boost its comms team
UKIP has appointed former BBC producer Sarah White as a press officer ahead of the general election in May.
From the editor-in-chief: Whitehall and the City yearn for your good conversation
I am genuinely convinced, more than ever before, that professional comms people are positioned at the point where businesses and politicians yearn to be.
Fishburn's guide to the general election: Planning for Uncertainty
The outcome of the next election is one of the most uncertain in living memory.
Britain could leave Europe if comms lessons are not learned
The campaign to keep Britain in Europe needs to take heed of the Scottish referendum and stay positive.
Have your say: what are the best PR tools to win the general election?
Following our analysis on whether this will be the first integrated election campaign, we want to hear your views on the debate.
The Nigel Farage factor: UKIP is the most talked about party on Twitter
UKIP has been the most talked about UK political party on Twitter over the past three months, new research shows.
Conservatives favour Facebook while Labour prefers Twitter as 'social' election battle hots up
The Conservatives are favouring Facebook in their election campaign while Labour is more adept at using Twitter, a new study shows.
Cameron's comms challenge now rests on a knife edge
It is the first full week of the new Government and after a weekend's rest, following a shock ending, we're now into Cameron - Part II. But will it be more of the same or will the franchise be taken off in a new direction?
Coloured cocktails and confounded predictions: PRWeek's night at the election parties
It was a night that began with low expectations of a definitive result but that ended in a shock victory for David Cameron's Conservatives.
General Election: which party has had the best campaign? Vote in our poll
Which political party has run the best election campaign? Now is your chance to vote in a PRWeek poll.
Cameron wins most positive social sentiment in final leaders' debate while Miliband is most discussed
A lively Question Time audience kept party leaders on their toes during the last debate before the 2015 general election.
'Ed Balls Day' increases shadow chancellor's profile ahead of general election
Ed Balls has become the third most talked about politician on Twitter thanks to the fourth anniversary, yesterday, of 'Ed Balls Day' when the shadow chancellor infamously tweeted his own name instead of typing it into the search box.
Channel 4 to shut down E4 on election day to get young people voting
Channel 4 is switching off its digital channel E4 on 7 May to encourage viewers to get out and vote in the general election.
Bell Pottinger releases social media tool to track general election
Bell Pottinger has launched a social media dashboard, which aims to offer daily insight into the general election campaign.
The language of politicians is turning off voters, according to poll
Research by Golin, in association with the polling organisation Toluna, found that a third of the British electorate trust candidates less when they lapse into buzzwords and "politician-speak".
The eight public affairs professionals standing to become MPs
Staff from Bell Pottinger, Hanover and FleishmanHillard are among those from public affairs agencies standing as parliamentary candidates at the general election, PRWeek has learned.
Support for Ed Miliband rises as #nondom trends on Twitter
Labour leader Ed Miliband's plan to scrap the non-domicile tax status has received widespread support on social media, generating 20,000 conversations with the hashtag #nondom used 4,000 times.
The leadership debates: No clear winners, but some losers
Punters, pundits and political obsessives were all looking for a knock-out blow, but in the end the great leaders' debate did not quite deliver.
Labour and Conservatives need to make frantic calculations to become the largest party in May
With less than six weeks to go until polling day, Labour and the Conservatives remain level-pegging in the polls, depending on which you read, and the precedents from previous parliaments do not look promising for either party in terms of achieving the breakthrough they need.
General election: How the main parties are approaching comms and social media
Alex Benady looks at the main parties' general election comms strategies and the race to stay at the forefront of social media.
Public affairs needs to wake up to the multi-party system
Public affairs is in danger of being left behind as the party system changes.
Labour has biggest share of support on social media
Labour has a 35 per cent share of the voice on social media across all key election topics, according to a study by social analytics firm Crimson Hexagon.
Green Party leader Natalie Bennett may have scooped top spot in shambolic media interview stakes
Tuesday 24 February 2015 should have been a great day for the Greens to set out their vision for a new form of politics that challenges the status quo, but instead the day descended into complete farce.
Green Party mocks male-dominated debates with new campaign poster
The Green Party has released a campaign poster that mocks the four male party leaders who could take part in the general election debates.
Is this the first integrated general election campaign?
This week, the starting pistol was fired on the 100-day countdown to the general election on 7 May. The field is clear for an extraordinary pitched battle that is both wide open and likely to see the smaller parties, such as UKIP, the Scottish Nationalist Party and the Green Party, take a greater share of the popular vote than at any time in history. But what are the tools that the parties need to win?
Cameron would be mad to agree to any televised debate
There is still no consensus as to precisely how long Alastair Campbell said a scandal can swirl before it consumes its victim.