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Month: May 2012

Will Jeremy Hunt soon be an ex-cabinet Minister

Will Jeremy Hunt soon be an ex-cabinet Minister

Catching up with the first part of Jeremy Hunt’s testimony at the Leveson Inquiry, the one thing that sticks out for me at least is this, Vince Cable was removed from the decision making process for showing prejudice, at the very least, Jeremy Hunt, should have showed a perception of complete neutrality. In politics, occasionally the perception matters more than the facts, and on perceptions alone it doesn’t look good for Hunt. Given that we have the Jubilee long weekend…

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Is it worth taking out Mitt insurance?

Is it worth taking out Mitt insurance?

David Herdson on the Republican nomination. What are the chances that Romney won’t be nominee? Following his comprehensive win in Texas this week, the media have generally called Mitt Romney as officially over the winning line, with more than half the delegates for the Republican convention later this year. Yes and no. Some states which held caucuses months ago have still to allocate their delegates as the initial vote was just the first stage in the process.  If delegates are…

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Who will be Mitt’s running mate?

Who will be Mitt’s running mate?

Following the Texas primary last night, Mitt Romney secured enough delegates to be his party’s Presidential nominee, now he will be considering who to select as his running mate. Jeb Bush has said he would consider an offer to become Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate “very carefully.” The former Florida governor told Italian news outlet Linkiesta in an interview on Tuesday. “If Romney were to offer me the job of vice president, I would consider the proposal very carefully,” Bush…

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Michael Gove – bottom of the Populus ratings

Michael Gove – bottom of the Populus ratings

Is he really a potential leader? There has been a lot written about the education secretary, Michael Gove, since his assured and lucid appearance before the Leveson inquiry. He’s even being talked about as a possible replacement for Dave and at least one bookie makes him the third favourite. But does he have popular appeal? Has he got that special quality that marks a politician out as having leadership potential? The most recent polling I can find are the regular…

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The Irish Referendum

The Irish Referendum

The Republic of Ireland will hold a referendum to accept the European fiscal compact treaty tomorrow with the problems in Greece and Spain in the background.   The polls are showing the yes side will win, but there are significant don’t knows in the polling. A recent Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll put the support for the treaty at 39%, with 30% against the treaty, some 22% are unsure of how to vote and 9% intending not to vote. In March it…

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Why aren’t SNP voters backing Salmond on independence?

Why aren’t SNP voters backing Salmond on independence?

What happens if defeat looks certain? One electoral fact that hasn’t been given much attention is that the SNP’S vote share in the Scottish council elections on May 3rd was 13% down on what Salmond’s party secured a year earlier in the Holyrood elections. In 2011 it was 45% while in 2012 it was 32%. Not only did the SNP fail to take its much hyped key target of Glasgow it saw the city’s council move back to Labour overall…

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