Hi all, Over the next three or four days I will be susbstantially upgrading the Political Betting technical infrastructure. For those who care, the big changes are: A new faster, shinier main server An upgrade to the latest version of WordPress A huge upgrade to the Disqus commenting system (you’ll be able to ‘like’ particularly insightful comments, or those from tim or seanT) While I will try and minimise downtime, it’s quite likely that there will be substantial periods when…
How many of Cameron/Clegg/Miliband will still be leaders of their parties on general election day? None One Two Three The “poll” above is based on an an intriguing market from PaddyPower on how many of Cameron/Clegg/Miliband will still be leading their parties on the day of the general election. The options and prices are:- None 16/1 One 6/1 Two 6/4 Three 10/11 What I like is that is is just the numbers and not who. So if you…
This is PB’s regular overnight open thread. Everybody is welcome.
Henry G Manson on the health changes In a speech to the Royal College of Nurses GPs in 2008 David Cameron won applause for his election pledge against “pointless top-down reorganisation that aim for change but just bring chaos.†Yet ‘chaos’ is surely a considerable risk now. The biggest restructuring of the NHS since it was created, contradictions running throughout the revised Health and Social Care Bill alongside £20 billion of efficiency saving targets. Oh and let’s not forget the…
Surely this should be the moment for a party of the right? You probable haven’t noticed it but the party that came second in terms of votes in the last national election but one, UKIP, is starting its annual conference in Eastbourne today. That election, for the EU parliament in June 2009 was something of a high point and since then they’ve really struggled. Their hopes of a Westminster seat at the general election were dashed when Nigel Farage came…
The 100 songs that changed history? To kick off tonight Time Out’s got an interesting feature which has some political elements – its choice of the 100 songs that changed history. You can find it here. What do you think? Is the listings magazine on the right track – or should I say “tracks”. Have a good night. @MikeSmithsonPB
Or is he being constrained by Nick & the Lib Dems? Several observers are reporting that there’s increasing concern amongst Tory MPs about Dave’s position on Europe. His detractors want a more eurosceptic approach which is very different from what they are hearing from their leader. Daniel Knowles in the Telegraph reports on the feelings of many Tory backbenchers: “… For many, Europe has taken on significance as a test of the power of Parliament. Though they bang the desks…
Has Perry’s arrival caused him to up his game? With just over four months to go before real voters start making real choices in real elections about the Republican nominee the main contenders slugged it out overnight at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. This was the first outing at such an event by Rick Perry, governor of Texas, who has quickly moved into the favourite slot after entering the race last month. The big focus of the evening was…