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Month: April 2009

Spread punters continue to dump Labour

Spread punters continue to dump Labour

Sporting Index Spread Markets At what stage will Labour bottom out? The above are the latest Commons seats spread prices from SportingIndex which have seen further movement away from Labour and an advance for the Lib Dems. Brown’s party is now at its lowest ever level following the latest two seat shift. On the other main market, Extrabet, the numbers are broadly the same – the only difference being the Lib Dem spread which is at 46 – 49 seats….

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What if Charles Clarke’s patience finally snaps?

What if Charles Clarke’s patience finally snaps?

Could he be the stalking horse to bring Brown down? LabourHome is carrying a piece suggesting that “former Cabinet Minister is rumoured to be prepared to stand as a stalking horse candidate to trigger a leadership election” Clarke has always been one of Brown’s most furious Labour party critics and quite often when “former cabinet minsters” are quoted on Brown-related issues the assumption is that it’s the former home secretary. Certainly Clarke has never been at the top of Gord’s…

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Should Clegg have shared his big moment?

Should Clegg have shared his big moment?

Click here to watch Was it a mistake to allow Dave to muscle in? Some interesting debate on the previous thread over whether Nick Clegg was right to allow Cameron to be part of his big moment in the immediate aftermath of yesterday afternoon’s vote. Ben Brogan in his Telegraph blog was no doubt about its significance and ran a piece under the heading “A picture that changes politics?”. He went on about Clegg: “.. His willingness to share the…

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Has John Rentoul got this one right?

Has John Rentoul got this one right?

The Independent Is it really all over over for Gord? With the Prime Minister due to face another difficult vote in the commons let’s spare a thought this morning for the person who will be preparing the daily press summary at Number 10 for Gordon Brown. For even though BBC News regarded the defeat on the Ghurkas issue as a minor down-bulletin story yesterday (a disgrace showing an inept sense of news priorities which opens them up to a charge…

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Could we see a CON-LD pincher movement on Labour?

Could we see a CON-LD pincher movement on Labour?

Harry Hayfield asks: Could it be 1997 in reverse? One of the striking things about Election 1997 was the pincher movement that Labour and the Liberal Democrats performed on the Conservatives as tactical voting happened on a scale never seen before (or as electors knew it “Vote for the candidate most likely to defeat the Conservative!”). Today we saw a pincher movement by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in Westminster which made 55 Labour MP’s vote against the government…

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Has Nick Clegg at last found his voice?

Has Nick Clegg at last found his voice?

What are his party’s general election prospects? This will be a day for the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, to savour. For in all the time that he’s been leader this is the first occasion when he came out of PMQs as the clear winner. The anger and ferocity of his attack on Brown for Labour’s inflexible stance on the Ghurka issue hit home on all sides of the house and acted as a good trailer for this afternoon’s debate,…

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The PMQ thread

The PMQ thread

Continuation thread as the two leaders clash I’m not feeling very well today so here is a thread for this lunchtime’s PMQs. Hopefully I’ll be posting normally later. Mike Smithson

Could Gord lose his MP expenses gamble?

Could Gord lose his MP expenses gamble?

Mail Online How risky is putting his authority on the line? Given the backlash from Smeargate, the post-budget poll moves against Labour and the widespread ridicule over his YouTube video you would have thought that the last thing the Prime Minister should be doing at the moment is to put his authority on the line in a commons vote on MP expenses. Yet that was the message coming out of Number 10 last night in what the Guardian describes as…

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