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Month: October 2013

David Herdson argues that the rising cost of living might not be Miliband’s magic bullet

David Herdson argues that the rising cost of living might not be Miliband’s magic bullet

Labour could be handing the government the economic debate by default Two news stories this week again highlighted the critical issue of the cost of living, which Ed Miliband made the centrepiece of his conference speech, and which Labour has been pushing ever since its leaders worked out that a genuine economic recovery was underway. The first was the round of energy price hikes, which may or may not be partially related to that very speech – there was plenty…

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The CON European leader is in UKIP’s sights

The CON European leader is in UKIP’s sights

Henry G Manson on the battle in the North East Many expect UKIP to do well in next year’s European elections. The bookmakers have the purple party at 7/4 to get the most MEPs, with Labour the 4/5 favourite and Conservatives on 4/1. The purple party can look forward to plenty of media coverage and the recent conference embarrassments involving Godfrey Bloom don’t appear to have had much wider impact with their support. One symbolic moment of these particular European…

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Alistair Carmichael at 40-1 is a great bet for next LD leader

Alistair Carmichael at 40-1 is a great bet for next LD leader

The bruiser who’s been brought in to out-smart Salmond The big surprise in last week’s re-shuffle was the sacking of Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore, and his replacement by the Lib Dem Chief Whip, Alistair Carmichael. Over the next 11 months Carmichael will have an increasingly high-profile role with all the focus on the Scottish referendum. The NO side needed someone who could handle SNP leader Alex Salmond which is why he’s been given the job My view is that Carmichael…

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October 17th Local By-Election Results

October 17th Local By-Election Results

Dalston on Carlisle Result (Change on 2011 local election): Lib Dem 506 (37% +15%), Con 476 (35% -14%), Lab 186 (14% -7%), UKIP 167 (12% +4%), Green 27 (2%) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative on a swing of 14.5% from Con to Lib Dem Westbourne on Chichester Result: Con 184 (41% -21%), UKIP 106 (24%), Green 85 (19%), Lib Dem 68 (15% -23%), Patria 3 (1%) Conservative HOLD on a swing of 22.5% from Con to UKIP Barnfield on Luton…

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Local By-Election Preview : October 17th 2013

Local By-Election Preview : October 17th 2013

Dalston on Carlisle (Con Defence) Last Local Election: Lab 27, Con 20, Lib Dem 2, Ind 2 (Labour overall majority of 3) Result in ward over recent electoral cycle: 2010: Con 1,715 (47%), Lib Dem 1,241 (34%), Lab 658 (18%) 2011: Con 1,108 (49%), Lib Dem 500 (22%), Lab 478 (21%), UKIP 170 (8%) 2012: Lib Dem 1,033 (52%), Con 481 (24%), Lab 305 (15%), UKIP 174 (9%) Candidates duly nominated: Ruth Alcroft (Lab), Robert Dickinson (UKIP), Michael Gee (Lib…

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CON now level pegging with LAB amongst those certain to vote with Ipsos-MORI

CON now level pegging with LAB amongst those certain to vote with Ipsos-MORI

Amongst all giving a voting intention LAB was 5% ahead See chart pic.twitter.com/8GuTYRRqlH — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) October 17, 2013 All leaders see satisfactions ratings boost In the Ipsos-MORI leader satisfaction ratings all see net increase. Ed now has better net figures than Dave See pic.twitter.com/pxJrTbav30 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) October 17, 2013 EdM sees net 34% uplift in Ipsos-MORI satisfaction ratings amongst LAB voters See chart pic.twitter.com/hvZFhFYIEJ — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) October 17, 2013 Ipsos-MORI finds that of all the new…

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What voters think would happen if the Tories won a majority

What voters think would happen if the Tories won a majority

Eight years of decontamination have produced almost no serious change to the Tory brand http://t.co/FDqqmQ0KgA — Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) October 17, 2013 What does this say about Dave’s decontamination project? Very interesting new YouGov polling out this morning for the Times on what voters think would be more or less likely to happen if the Tories won an overall majority. The views on immigration count against the Lib Dem while the view on tax cuts are helpful to them. Mike…

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New Marf Cartoon and Nighthawks is now open

New Marf Cartoon and Nighthawks is now open

Home of the web’s best political conversation Why not relax, and converse into the night on the day’s events in PB NightHawks. If you’re a lurker, why not delurk tonight? Marf’s cartoon discusses one of the major topics of the day, The Clash between Andrew Mitchell and The Police in Downing Street last year. I wonder if the title of Andrew Mitchell’s biography will be I Fought The Law (and Law fought back), given the stories in links 5, 6…

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