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Month: July 2009

Was this the day Dave was going to have to sack Andy?

Was this the day Dave was going to have to sack Andy?

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Where next in the phone-hacking saga? If you had believed one or two posters here on Monday then today was the day that David Cameron was going to sack his PR chief, Andy Coulson. This was going to follow his appearance yesterday before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee which had summoned him following the allegations in the Guardian two weeks ago. Well it didn’t quite work out like that. The committee didn’t really strike a blow and…

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Will 22,000+ Chloe votes = “Dave’s sealed the deal”?

Will 22,000+ Chloe votes = “Dave’s sealed the deal”?

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What general election pointers should we be looking for? We’ve had quite a few by elections in this parliament but most have been largely irrelevant in what they say about the Tory-Labour battle that will determine the general election. Tomorrow at Norwich North it’s different. This is a seat that the Tories should pick up relatively easily if they want to maintain their general election expectations – but what do we mean by “relatively easily“? Interestingly the Westminster voting intention…

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And tonight’s Marf cartoon…

And tonight’s Marf cartoon…

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  Our resident cartoonist makes a welcome return Marf, great to have you back on PB – more of Marf’s work can be found at LondonSketchbook.com. The return of Our Genial Host from his Spanish break is now imminent – on behalf of the editorial team it’s great to have him back, and can I also say a very big thank you to Morus and David who have taken the lion’s share of covering PB while Mike has been away,…

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Tories with 16-point lead from Ipsos-MORI

Tories with 16-point lead from Ipsos-MORI

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CON 40 (+2) LAB 24 (+3) LD 18 (-1) “Others” fall as we move further from the Euros A new poll from Ipsos-MORI shows the big two parties gaining most as the high support for Others around the time of the Euros continues to ebb away, with the Conservatives up two points to the key threshold of 40, and Labour climbing three up into the mid-20s. The decline for the share of “Others” (down 4 to 18 – Greens &…

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Swine Flu: What impact in Norwich North?

Swine Flu: What impact in Norwich North?

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Is there a mechanism for delaying by-elections? News from the BBC indicates that Chris Ostrowski, the Labour candidate in Thursday’s by-election in Norwich North, has collapsed at home and been taken to hospital with suspected Swine Flu. Firstly, I’m sure we all wish him a full and speedy recovery – hospitalisation denotes a degree of seriousness, and I have no doubt that partisan feeling can be put aside to wish him the very best. That said, this could be significant…

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So where next for the British Left?

So where next for the British Left?

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Can a new consensus be found? Last night, I attended the launch of the Open Left project – run by James Purnell MP on behalf of the think tank Demos. Purnell was joined by Jon Cruddas MP, Will Hutton, Jess Search of Channel 4, and Lewis Iwu (recently OUSU President and tipped as a future Labour leader if Shadsy is reading). The project has a simple aim – to redefine what it means to be Left wing in the face…

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Populus Gives 12-point Tory lead

Populus Gives 12-point Tory lead

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CON 38% (+2) LAB 26% (+2) LD 20% (+1) The Big Parties’ recovery continues The main impact of tonight’s Populus poll for tomorrow’s Times is on the minor parties, which are down 5%, with the gap between Tories and Labour steady at 12%, both up two points on the last Populus poll back on 10 June, shortly after the European elections and at the height of the expenses scandal. The 16% finding for Others is still high by historic standards. The…

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Why this and why now?

Why this and why now?

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Is this about McBride, or the Guardian v Coulson? The interview of Damien McBride in today’s Guardian Media section is an immediate New Entry in the canon of rehabilitative interviews. The full gamut of human emotions is put on display – personal horror, regret, resignation – a truly masochistic apology, topped with remorse and the inevitable father-analogy for Brown. But the mea maxima culpa covers only half of the interview – from there we have various reasons and side-swipes: his…

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