Browsed by
Month: October 2010

MORI finds growing support for the need for cuts

MORI finds growing support for the need for cuts

Comments 0 Comment

But voters split over whether the plans are right Ipsos-MORI has got the first post-CSR poll out and finds both good and bad news for the coalition. While overall there is acceptance that cuts are needed the public is evenly split on whether the government has made the right decisions. A total of 41% think it has made the right decisions and 38% the wrong decisions. Those who voted Conservative at the general election are most likely to think the…

Read More Read More

Will the coalition get blamed when the cuts are specific?

Will the coalition get blamed when the cuts are specific?

Comments 0 Comment

The first reaction to the cuts statements There was a little bit of polling last night about the spending review but most of the fieldwork for the YouGov daily poll took place before the CSR statement was made. An interesting angle comes from the firm’s Anthony Wells – who runs UKPR. He wrote:- “The most interesting question there though was who people thought was to blame. 30% said the coalition and 34% said the last Labour government. Compare that to…

Read More Read More

Can Labour make the ideological charge stick?

Can Labour make the ideological charge stick?

Comments 0 Comment

Is this what will determine the public’s reaction? What struck me about Alan Johnson’s response to the statement and the interviews with Labour figures over the past few hours was that their initial line of attack was that the cuts package is being imposed for ideological reasons. The suggestion being that many Tories want a smaller state and they are using the “cover” of the deficit to make changes in the way the that country operates for more than just…

Read More Read More

So how will it all look by the weekend?

So how will it all look by the weekend?

Comments 0 Comment

Is the devil within the detail? Several people have commented that this statement was very much like a Gordon Brown budget. It was certainly astute as a means of dealing with the political needs of the moment but will it stand up to scrutiny. How’s it all going to look in a few days times when it’s been subject to the most intense examination. What was very Brownesque was the way Osborne finished – claiming that what they were doing…

Read More Read More

Is this the day that will decide the next election?

Is this the day that will decide the next election?

Comments 0 Comment

Will Osborne’s big gamble succeed? Well we are here at least – what will almost certainly be the defining day of the coalition government. If Osborne & co have got this right then the this will be seen in an improving economy as we get nearer to 2015 which could produce a second victory for a Cameron-led government, with or without the Liberal Democrats. If the Osborne medicine is wrong then the political consequences for the coalition partners could be…

Read More Read More

So what would you do Mr. Richards?

So what would you do Mr. Richards?

Comments 0 Comment

Twitter Isn’t this a bit melodramatic? Generally I’ve got a lot of time for the Indy’s Steve Richards but his Tweet a few minutes has left me almost speechless. Yes we do have vibrant cities but I don’t get this reference to the 80s. Yes Labour was out of power for the entire decade and seven years more but that was largely due to choosing unelectable leaders. Neither Foot nor Kinnock were ever going to be the match for Mrs….

Read More Read More

Cuts Week – Day 2

Cuts Week – Day 2

Comments 0 Comment

Is it smart to bring all the bad news together? The sheer scale of what we are seeing this week is quite incredible. I can’t recall a period as intensive as this when so many announcements of such a magnitude were compressed into such a short period. The strategy, taking a five year time-span, is to get all the bad news out early so that by the time the coalition partners are going to the country then this will seem…

Read More Read More