Browsed by
Month: February 2020

And so to South Carolina where anything other than a big Biden win would be a sensation

And so to South Carolina where anything other than a big Biden win would be a sensation

His Obama link seems to be working well. Just about ever since Betfair opened its South Carolina betting market former vice-president, 77 year old Joe Biden, has been the favourite. There was a moment a weak or so ago when when everything seems to be going on Bernie’s way and he had a day as favourite. Since then things have changed and now Biden is a 93%+chance. The thing to remember about the state is that the majority of Democratic…

Read More Read More

Flying into trouble – the government’s position on Heathrow?

Flying into trouble – the government’s position on Heathrow?

With one bound Boris was free! That seems to have been the government’s reaction to the Court of Appeal’s decision in relation to Heathrow, at least judging by the Transport Secretary’s somewhat disingenuous statement that as this was a private sector project the government would not be appealing the decision. Given how quickly the statement was made and how long the 2 related judgments were (143 pages) one wonders whether they were even read, let alone considered.  But in all…

Read More Read More

Labour must get over its myth of 2017 if it is to win again

Labour must get over its myth of 2017 if it is to win again

A well-timed aberration is still an aberration Keir Starmer looks well set to win Labour’s leadership election in April. After securing comfortable leads among MPs, CLPs and affiliate organisations in the previous rounds, YouGov reported this week that he holds a 22% lead over Rebecca Long-Bailey, and is more likely than not to win on the first round. If he does, it will be in no small part down to the last set of rule changes which at the time…

Read More Read More

Can anyone stop Sanders – looking at the contenders one by one?

Can anyone stop Sanders – looking at the contenders one by one?

Bernie Sanders is rightly the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. RIght now he leads in national polling, delegates, popular votes cast and has gone 3 out of 3 (Including a blowout delegate win in broadly representative Nevada) for states that have thus far cast their votes. Who can challenge him though ? Examining the candidates officially still in the race and those with odds of less than 1000.0 on Betfair. So in broad order of plausibility… Tom Steyer – He…

Read More Read More

For election junkies a great new resource from the House of Commons Library

For election junkies a great new resource from the House of Commons Library

One hundred years of UK elections I suspect many PBers are like me always wanting to check details of past elections usually in order to make a point about a current situation. Well there is a great downloadable resource just out from the Commons library which has data on UK elections going back a whole century and presenting it in an attractive way. This 96 page document is available free from here and I am sure that many of those…

Read More Read More

In the South Carolina betting Bernie moves from a 57.5% chance to a 14% one in less than 5 days

In the South Carolina betting Bernie moves from a 57.5% chance to a 14% one in less than 5 days

Biden looks set to be heading for victory in the state that was his firewall With the South Carolina primary taking place on Saturday there have been three new polls today all of them showing ex-VP Joe Biden with a clear lead. One poll has him 20% ahead of Bernie Sanders, another one 16% while a final one has the gap just at 4% Whatever there is no good poll for Sanders and and the signs are that the state…

Read More Read More

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown – now being talked about as a compromise Dem candidate at a brokered convention

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown – now being talked about as a compromise Dem candidate at a brokered convention

My 250/1 bet today In recent weeks, Democrats have placed a steady stream of calls to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who opted against running for president nearly a year ago, suggesting that he can emerge as a white knight nominee at a brokered convention — in part on the theory that he may carry his home state in a general election. (Today’s New York Times) A year ago, when the race for the White House in this year’s presidential…

Read More Read More