Browsed by
Month: May 2013

Is masterly inactivity the government’s best course?

Is masterly inactivity the government’s best course?

Comments 0 Comment

  Any meaningful new initiative will generate more trouble than it’s worth It is not unusual for the Queen’s Speeches of any given government to thin out as the parliament progresses.  Inevitably, those policies it ranked as most significant when it took office are likely to be introduced first, alongside the quick wins that help it to generate its own momentum. Consequently, by the second half of the parliament, what’s left are policies which are either complex or of secondary…

Read More Read More

Tory backbenchers warn “Cameron may have to break up the coalition to remain leader”

Tory backbenchers warn “Cameron may have to break up the coalition to remain leader”

Comments 0 Comment

The Sunday Times is reporting that (££) “A growing number of the talented 2010 intake of MPs, who could play a key role in deciding Cameron’s fate, now believe their party should withdraw from the coalition at least a year before the next general election in 2015. They believe Cameron may have to lead a minority government to save seats. “We are the ones who are going to be picking up the pieces if we go down in 2015. The…

Read More Read More

How Ed Miliband compares to his predecessors

How Ed Miliband compares to his predecessors

Comments 0 Comment

Now that we’re just a little under two years from the General Election, I thought it might be useful to see how Dave and Ed compare to the predecessors as Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, and used their net approval ratings with Ipsos-Mori In the first of this series, I’m starting with how Ed Miliband compares with his predecessors in terms of net ratings.   A couple of notes about the data. 1) The figure from Margaret Thatcher…

Read More Read More

The 2015 General Election: Will the Liberal Democrats make net gains?

The 2015 General Election: Will the Liberal Democrats make net gains?

Comments 0 Comment

  Yes, you did read that headline correctly, it wasn’t a typo, I am going to discuss whether the Lib Dems can make net gains in parliamentary seats at the 2015 General election, which might seem odd, given the Lib Dems current travails in the polls. Since the start of April, of the 37 polls conducted by YouGov, the Lib Dems have only led UKIP in four of them, averaging 10.4% to UKIP’s 12.8% in that period. In the 16…

Read More Read More

Off on my holidays..

Off on my holidays..

Comments 0 Comment

Just to say that I’m off on my holidays tomorrow and this should be the last post from me till a fortnight on Monday. We are heading for Italy and will be staying in Milan, Sorrento, Lecce and Bologna. We’ve never been to Pompei before and that should be a highlight of the first week. The site is in the capable hands of TSE. Mike Smithson

Henry G Manson says the Greens ought to be doing better

Henry G Manson says the Greens ought to be doing better

Comments 0 Comment

Why do we hear so little about Caroline Lucas? The election of Caroline Lucas in 2010 was in many ways quite extraordinary. In winning a three-way marginal seat she succeeded where UKIP have so far failed. Lucas is intelligent, thoughtful and charismatic. Yet the Greens simply have not capitalised. At a time when the Labour Party is saying as little as possible about its policy plans, you’d think there was a hole for the Green Party’s national no nonsense opposition…

Read More Read More

LAB moves to its best YouGov position for seven weeks

LAB moves to its best YouGov position for seven weeks

Comments 0 Comment

Ukip drop to 13% The latest YouGov daily poll is out and sees the Tories still in the doldrums below the 30 mark. The comparisons in the chart above are with a week ago which was before the reported “swivel eyed loons” that a senior CON figure was said to have made about party activists. The firm has tended to show show better than average figures for the Tories and today’s numbers suggest that the bad press they’ve been having…

Read More Read More

Local By-Election Preview : May 23rd 2013

Local By-Election Preview : May 23rd 2013

Comments 0 Comment

Whitwell on Bolsover Last Local Election 2011: Lab 32, Ind 4, Green 1 (Labour majority of 25) To view the result in 2011 please visit http://s3.datawrapper.de/BIZMe/ Dennis Skinner MP (Lab, Bolsover) has become as much of the Parliamentary Estate as Black Rod and the Speaker. Famed for his comments at each State Opening, is it any wonder that he has been named the “Beast of Bolsover” and was even immortalised in the CBBC comedy drama “Maid Marian and Her Merry…

Read More Read More