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Month: September 2004

What Hartlepool result does Michael Howard want?

What Hartlepool result does Michael Howard want?

Tory tactical voters hold the key The more we think about this the more we believe that it will be the Tories who’ll decide how this by election will go. The thinking that they will follow their allegiance is based on the July 15 contests when they kept within 2-3% of their General Election peformance. But two things are different: the Conservatives have put a lot less into the Hartlepool campaign and Labour’s campaign strategy to make the LD candidate…

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Hartlepool betting to continue until the declaration

Hartlepool betting to continue until the declaration

Follow the money to get early clues on which party has won? The Betfair betting exchange market on Hartlepool will continue throughout the day right upto the point in the early hours of tomorrow morning when the result is declared. If it’s like Brent East, Leicester South and Hodge Hill, the betting exchange market should be a good guide to what’s happening. As the day wears on the officials will start to get an idea of, first, what the turn-out…

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Hartlepool – it’s going to rain tomorrow

Hartlepool – it’s going to rain tomorrow

The weather forecast for Hartlepool tomorrow is for rain although it should clear by the evening. Quite what effect, if any, this will have on turnout or voting we do not know although the received wisdom is that it does not help Labour. A bigger effect on turnout, compared with the July contests, might be that it goes dark earlier in late September. Sunset in Hartlepool tomorrow is at 6.42 pm and it’s always harder for the parties to get…

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Where are Labour’s envelope stuffers?

Where are Labour’s envelope stuffers?

Is there betting value on the Lib Dems? As the Hartepool campaign goes into its final day the big question for political gamblers is whether there is any value in the prices available on the Lib Dems or is the by-election the certainty that the current Labour odds seem to indicate? All betting is about value. Are the chances of something happening better than the odds available – if they are then you have a value bet. Prices have moved…

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Could Hartlepool mark the end for Tony Blair?

Could Hartlepool mark the end for Tony Blair?

Is the Prime Minister’s job on the line on Thursday? With just two days to go before voters in Hartlepool go to the polls a leading Guardian commentator has suggested that a victory for the Lib Dems could mark the end for Tony Blair. As part of extensive by-election coverage in the paper today Martin Kettle speculates:- It has been a long time since a party leader’s future hung on the future of a byelection. But it is true of…

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Hartlepool betting moves back to Labour

Hartlepool betting moves back to Labour

There’s been a big move back to Labour in the Hartlepool markets with William Hill coming back in at a price of 1/6. The Lib Dems are at 7/2. The Betfair betting exchange has responded in the same fashion although the current Labour price is slightly better value at about 1/4. It’s a fairly light market with just £1,600 being matched between 9am and 6pm. It could be that just one or two punters are forcing the price down and…

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Which US pollster is best for you?

Which US pollster is best for you?

Is the Bush-Cheney ticket a certainty? Since the Republican Convention in New York at the end of August the betting markets have followed the polls and Bush is a red hot favourite. It’s hard to call anything other than Bush. But it’s worth looking back at what happened last time to check which pollsters were most accurate. These were the final polls. CNN/Gallup tracking poll: Bush over Gore 47-45. Wall St. Journal: Bush over Gore 47-44. ABC/Washington Post: Bush over…

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Labour poll decline hits Hartlepool markets

Labour poll decline hits Hartlepool markets

Populus – Labour in third place nationally A series of bad national opinion surveys for Labour in the Sunday papers have transformed the betting for Thursday’s by-election in Hartlepool to elect a replacement for Peter Mandelson who has quit Westminster to become a Euro Commissioner. Yesterday morning we were suggesting that the 4/1 then available on the Lib Dems on the betting exchanges was “tempting”. As of the time of posting that price has tightened to 8/5. So yesterday a…

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