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Month: December 2007

Is now the time to buy Labour again?

Is now the time to buy Labour again?

CON 42%: (+1), LAB 35% (+3), LD 14% (-3) The massive face-to-face monthly survey by Ipsos-MORI involving a sample of 1859 has just been published. The changes above show the variations on the the firm’s November telephone poll where the sample was only about half the size. The firm’s latest Political Monitor shows the Conservatives with a 7-point lead and also that David Cameron has the best net satisfaction rating (+6) of any Conservative leader since John Major won the…

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Who will be the next Archbishop of Westminster?

Who will be the next Archbishop of Westminster?

Morus considers the runners and riders in the betting market Early in 2007, shortly before his 75th birthday as required, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Westminster, tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI. The response, whilst not unexpected, was not as warm as he might have hoped – he was asked to stay on until the Pope chooses otherwise. It is expected that His Holiness will indicate his preference for a change at Westminster Cathedral within the next 12 months….

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It’s Eight Daves from Populus

It’s Eight Daves from Populus

Times poll has Con 40 (+4), Lab 32 (-5), LD 16 (0) A Populus poll in the Times today confirms that the Conservatives are still holding a significant lead over Labour, with an 8-point advantage. Fieldwork for the poll was carried out over the weekend. The poll also shows that the big two parties are now level pegging on the economy, with Labour a single point ahead, while the Conservatives also have a 4-point lead on the taxes/public spending issue….

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Should Huckabee really be the favourite for the GOP nomination?

Should Huckabee really be the favourite for the GOP nomination?

Tied for second on Betfair and average 17 points ahead in the last two Iowa polls One of my first introductions to betting was John McCririck’s book on the subject which came out in the early 1990s. A concept that he mentions, which will be familiar to many users of pb, is that of the “steamer”, a runner whose price shortens dramatically – although as I’m sure that PtP and other racing experts will testify, simply because a horse is…

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Sunday papers round-up

Sunday papers round-up

Stories from today’s newspapers Firstly, very best wishes to Mike for a speedy recovery and thanks to everyone for their support and comments on the previous thread. I’ll aim to keep pb running in Mike’s absence, but would welcome any guest articles that people might like to contribute on any aspect of UK/international politics or betting, or indeed anything relevant on finance and economics. In particular, would any of the site’s many US experts like to contribute a beginner’s guide…

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Message from Mike

Message from Mike

I was admitted to hospital overnight (nothing too serious) but I’m likely to be out of action for a few days. If Paul Maggs or my son Robert want to post or just launch open threads that will keep the discussions going that will be great.

How does Hillary deal with the Oprah effect?

How does Hillary deal with the Oprah effect?

Will the Winfrey endorsement help in the battle for women voters? This weekend the talk show host and arguably the second most famous woman in America, Oprah Winfrey, is joining Barack Obama on a three state campaign tour in a move that seems to have been designed to eat into Hillary Clinton’s commanding poll position amongst women voters. She’ll speak in support of the black senator from Illinois at mass campaign rallies in three of the states to decide first…

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Sean Fear’s Friday Slot

Sean Fear’s Friday Slot

Why Can’t Labour Motivate Its Identifiers? Support for the parties, as measured by opinion polls, ebbs and flows over time, but one thing remains constant. More people identify with the Labour Party, even at times of great unpopularity, then identify with the Conservatives. The latest Communicate Research Poll is a good example of this. The Conservatives lead Labour by 40% to 27% in terms of voting intention, yet Labour lead the Conservatives by 28% to 24% in terms of voter…

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