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Month: July 2012

Will the games boost Cameron’s election chances?

Will the games boost Cameron’s election chances?

Do governments of host countries get an Olympic boost? Since ancient times, rulers have used festivals and games as distractions for the masses; an entertained populace is likely to be a content one, or at least a more content one than it would otherwise have been. Does this feed through to a government’s re-election chances? Surprisingly, it seems it might do. In the 116-year history of the modern Olympic games, only three have been held in wholly non-democratic countries: Berlin…

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Re-shuffle betting – remember the dead heat rules

Re-shuffle betting – remember the dead heat rules

Baroness Warsi 3/1 Jeremy Hunt 5/1 Caroline Spelman 6/1 Cheryl Gillan 8/1 Ken Clarke 10/1 Theresa May 10/1 Lord Strathclyde 12/1 Andrew Lansley 14/1 Vince Cable 16/1 Michael Moore 16/1 William Hague 25/1 Owen Paterson 25/1 Nick Clegg 25/1 Ed Davey 33/1 Andrew Mitchell 33/1 Michael Gove 33/1 George Osborne 33/1 David Cameron 33/1 Iain Duncan Smith 40/1 Danny Alexander 40/1 Justine Greening 50/1 Eric Pickles 50/1 Philip Hammond 66/1 Who’ll be out in Dave’s first big shake-up? Apart from…

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Would a new Chancellor help government fortunes?

Would a new Chancellor help government fortunes?

Henry G Manson looks at Cable and Hague If the Coalition government was formed strictly in the national interest then David Cameron would surely be at least considering the value of installing Vince Cable in Number 11. Over two years George Osborne has overseen a contraction of the economy when growth of 5% was planned. With a botched budget and a string of u-turns and an unpopular cut in the very top rate of tax, the gloss has well and…

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What does #RomneyShambles say about Mitt’s view of foreigners?

What does #RomneyShambles say about Mitt’s view of foreigners?

Huffington Post Congratulations to Huff Post, if indeed it was them, for coining the term #RomneyShambles to describe the GOP contender’s critical comments about London 2012. It’s set off a whole series of Tweets and sums up the view on this side of the Atlantic over Mitt’s comments about the London games. Congratulations as well to David Cameron for his sharp response:- “”We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the…

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