Has Osborne got the bottle to ditch Dave’s pledge? Cast your mind back to the last of the TV debates just a week before the 2010 general election. Dave was put on the spot about pensioners perks which had been the subject of a Labour scare campaign. Would the Tories really scrap them? These include the winter fuel payment, free bus passes which 9 million of us have and free TV licences for all households where there’s somebody over the…
Can he face down his party’s EU sceptics? With all the signs that the PM is planning to face down the Tory Euro-sectpics could Dave be facing a dangerous period as the French and the Germans agree measures that they hope will bring stability to the Euro-zone. There are pitfalls almost everywhere. In the coming negotiations there’ll be an expectation back home that Dave can “repatriate” some of the powers that Brussels now has and the Cameron should use what…
Gallup survey Acceptable nominee Not acceptable Not sure Newt Gingrich 62 34 4 Mitt Romney 54 41 5 Rick Perry 41 52 7 Michelle Bachmann 37 56 7 Herman Cain 37 58 6 Ron Paul 34 62 4 Jon Huntsman 28 58 14 Rick Santorum 27 62 11 Just Newt & Mitt “acceptable” to majority of GOP With just four weeks to go before Iowa becomes the first state to decide its choice for the Republican White House nomination there’s…
Welcome again to the cafe where PB’s informal overnight conversation takes place. If you’ve not posted before then please join in. Have a good evening. Mike Smithson @MikeSmithsonOGH
Guardian Is Jackie Ashley right in her assessment? On the Guardian’s Comment is Free pages Jackie Ashley has provoked a largely hostile response to her suggestion that if an In/Out EU referendum happened now then the vote would be to remain. She concludes:” What is crystal clear right now is that, offered the chance of a still bleaker future outside the EU entirely, a large majority of British voters would shudder and say: you must be joking. Eurosceptics, beware what…
BBC News Has Vladimir Putin had his wings clipped? The big world political news overnight has been the dramatic reduction in the vote for Vladimir Putin’s party in the Russian general election. With 75% of the vote counted his United Russia party had just on 50% of the overall vote according to the Central Election Commission. That compares with the final total of 64% four years ago. The news comes amidst a rising number of complaints about election violations, A…
But he’s still beating Ed & Nick Superimposed on the pictures above are the latest YouGov “doing well/badly” numbers for the three main party leader. Although Dave is still leading on this count his 38% “well” is the lowest it’s been since the general election while the 56% “badly” is the worst. Ed’s 26% “well” equals its lowest but his 59% “badly” is a couple of notches off his worst figure. Clegg’s 22/67 split is quite a few points of…
Des Moines Register Romney drops to 3rd place – 9 points behind With less than a month to go before the Iowa Caucuses full details have been published of the much awaited survey by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register which has a big reputation polling these elections. The fieldwork all took place before yesterday’s withdrawal from the race of the controversial pizza chain boss, Herman Cain, who was in the lead when the paper last carried out…