Parliament Lowest Lib share GE share 1945-1950 7 9.1 1950-1951 4 2.5 1951-1955 2 2.7 1955-1959 5 5.9 1959-1964 7 11.2 1964-1966 7 8.5 1966-1970 7 7.5 1970-1974 6 19.3 1974 (F) – 1974 (O) 15 18.3 1974-1979 5 13.8 1979-1983 9 25.4 1983-1987 19 23 1987-1992 3 18 1992-1997 9 17.2 1997-2001 11 18.8 2001-2005 13 22.6 2005-2010 11 23.6 Everybody seems to be playing this today following Chris Huhne’s comment at the weekend. The above table shows the…
Is there a correlation between the national and the local? A crucial period for the coalition could be the days after next May’s local elections when there’ll be voting for many English councils, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament as well as the planned referendum on the voting system. Already many commentators, including me, are projecting that the latter will produce a NO. But what about that the other elections – will the LDs really see widespread losses on the…
Is saving “British Pubs” like saving the “British Sausage”? We all, I’m sure, remember the great episode of “Yes Minister” when Jim Hacker sought to change the media narrative by launching a campaign to “save the British sausage”. I just wonder whether Labour leadership front-runner, David Miliband, has found his equivalent with a been a big campaign just launched to save Britain’s pubs which he says are closing at about 40 a week. Before the election, he notes, Labour’s Minister…
Betfair Politics Are the markets right after YouGov? Precisely one month to go before the ballot papers go out and my reading is that this is a 60-40 battle with the chances at the moment erring slightly more to Dave than to Ed. The YouGov poll was not quite decisive enough for David – a mood that seems to be prevailing on the betting markets. I’m not as convinced as some by the theory that Ed will scoop up the…