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Month: July 2010

Mandy: Clegg wanted Brown’s scalp as price for coalition

Mandy: Clegg wanted Brown’s scalp as price for coalition

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But couldn’t we have guessed that anyway? Anybody watching ITV over the weekend could not have avoided the ads by the Times promoting their serialisation of Peter Mandelson’s new book. We were being promised something juicy but what’s emerged overnight is hardly exciting or really new. The first extract is published behind the paper’s pay-wall this morning so for those of us refusing to stump up we have to rely on other papers’ reports to get an idea about what…

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Would DaveM and Nick be able to do a deal?

Would DaveM and Nick be able to do a deal?

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CON/LAB lead Election outcome LAB lead 2.7% plus LAB overall majority LAB lead 0% – 2.7% LAB most seats in hung parliament CON lead 0% – 4.1% LAB most seats in hung parliament CON lead 4.1% – 11.1% CON most seats in hung parliament CON lead 11.2% plus CON overall majority The table, based on data from John Curtice, shows the range of trigger points for the next election assuming that there’s no change in the voting system and constituencies….

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Does anybody know where public opinion is going?

Does anybody know where public opinion is going?

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Poll Date CON LAB LD YouGov/Sunday Times 10/07/10 42 34 17 YouGov/Sun 09/07/10 42 35 16 YouGov/Sun 08/07/10 41 36 17 YouGov/Sun 07/07/10 40 36 17 YouGov/Sun 06/07/10 41 36 15 YouGov/Sun 05/07/10 40 36 16 YouGov/Sunday Times 02/07/10 41 36 16 YouGov/Sun 01/07/10 42 35 16 YouGov/Sun 30/06/10 42 36 15 YouGov/Sun 29/06/10 42 36 15 YouGov/Sun 28/06/10 42 35 16 YouGov/Sunday Times 25/06/10 43 36 16 YouGov/Sun 24/06/10 43 34 17 YouGov/Sun 23/06/10 42 34 17 YouGov/Sun 22/06/10…

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Why’s the EU soft on the data roaming racket?

Why’s the EU soft on the data roaming racket?

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One MB: UK price = £0.01; EU price = £1.00 Like many PBers I have a smart phone that allows me to access the internet, read the site and deal with email just about anywhere I happen to be. The more you have such a facility and the more advanced your phone then the more you use it. In the UK my operator, Vodafone, charge £5 per month for a maximum of 500mb of data – that’s one penny per…

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Is National Pay Bargaining the next target?

Is National Pay Bargaining the next target?

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Can it be fitted into the localism agenda? Earlier this week, Francis Maude gave a speech in which it was trailed that he may signal the end of national pay structures for the civil service. In the event, he didn’t touch on it, which caused some, such as Paul Waugh, to wonder whether the government decided that it was a battle too far at the moment. Perhaps, although it might simply be that the policy’s just not well enough developed….

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Could this guy spell trouble for Dave?

Could this guy spell trouble for Dave?

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What will his election inquiry come up with? The 1922 committee, following heavy prompting from Tim Montgomerie, is to launch an inquiry into the Tory performance at the general election. It will be led its chairman, Graham Brady, who, like Tim, is definitely is not part of Cameron’s fan club. They believe that their party could have secured an overall majority if Nick Clegg had not been given an equal billing in the debates and the party had had a…

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Is Kettle over-doing it on Dave?

Is Kettle over-doing it on Dave?

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Guardian According to PoliticsHome the political piece that’s getting most attention at the moment is Martin Kettle’s Guardian column in which he lavishes much praise on Cameron. It should be said that his views are not being universally welcomed by those Guardian loyalists who have responded. This is Kettle’s closing point: “These are still very early days. The coalition has to get through difficult votes on AV and negotiate the most difficult spending round in a generation. The economy may…

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Has the hapless Gove rescued the Balls leadership bid?

Has the hapless Gove rescued the Balls leadership bid?

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What’ll the schools fiasco do to the race? We’ve still got about two months to go before the Labour movement starts voting on its next leader and I’ve long argued that it’ll be the political environment at the time that will determine the outcome. It’s how Labour collectively feels about itself in eight or nine weeks time that matters and I just wonder whether Ed Balls has been given a golden opportunity to show his prowess with the Gove school…

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