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Month: July 2017

Remember when David Davis quit to fight a by-election the purpose of which was soon forgotten

Remember when David Davis quit to fight a by-election the purpose of which was soon forgotten

His weird 2008 move will raise questions about his judgement If failed 2005 leadership candidate and current Brexit secretary, David Davis, does find himself campaigning to be TMay’s successor then every bit of his political career will be scrutinised for pointers to whether he’s up to the job or not. One weird bit of his political CV that has been long forgotten but surely will be focused upon was his resignation as an MP for the Yorkshire seat of Haltemprice…

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Tony Blair: Must we love him or loathe him? Don Brind says No

Tony Blair: Must we love him or loathe him? Don Brind says No

Tony Blair was at his brilliant best in his Sky interview with Sophy Ridge who introduced him as someone people either love or loathe. Blair demonstrated his supreme ability to present evidence and argument in an accessible and compelling way. I didn’t need convincing that Brexit is a looming disaster but it was a joy to hear the case made so impressively. The big question, though, is whether anyone now listens to Tony Blair? What does he need to do…

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Some numbers that could help TMay’s survival. Another poll, YouGov, has her & the Tories edging back a touch

Some numbers that could help TMay’s survival. Another poll, YouGov, has her & the Tories edging back a touch

But still LAB leads Given how close it is to the last election it is hardly surprsisng that there are so few voting intention polls coming out. Today’s from YouGov is only the second since Mrs. May lost her majority on June 8th and has the gap down just a touch. CON 40 +2 LAB 45 -1 LD 7 = UKIP 2-2 This follows the weekend’s Survation online poll which had the LAB lead down to 2% from 6% on…

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EXCLUSIVE Support for a second Brexit vote is growing and Leavers should be nervous

EXCLUSIVE Support for a second Brexit vote is growing and Leavers should be nervous

Keiran Pedley looks at some exclusive polling from Opinium and asks whether Britain really could remain in the EU after all? As Tony Blair gave one of his characteristically unwelcome interventions in British politics last week many were asking why he bothers. With parties supporting Brexit winning more than 8 in 10 votes at the recent General Election you could be forgiven for assuming that the former PM’s calls for Brexit to be stopped will fall on deaf ears and…

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The chart that shows general election campaigns don’t matter (usually)

The chart that shows general election campaigns don’t matter (usually)

2017 election saw the biggest swing DURING an election campaign ever – uncertainty is the new normal pic.twitter.com/VVTCADtY0T — Ben Page, Ipsos MORI (@benatipsosmori) July 13, 2017 One of the axioms of British politics is that general election campaigns don’t matter, and the stats in the above chart by Ben Page of Ipsos MORI does back that up, with sub margin of error changes during past campaigns but the 2017 general election campaign really didn’t stick to past conventions. The…

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Why people voted Labour or Tory at the general election

Why people voted Labour or Tory at the general election

  YouGov have released some findings on why people voted Tory or Labour at the general election. After the Tory manifesto that was designed to annoy and upset every voter in the country it’s not surprising that Labour’s policies/manifestos scores higher than the Tories. What I find intriguing is how many people voted against Corbyn (both in absolute numbers and relative to Theresa May) which should alarm the Tories. If Labour are led by someone who isn’t quite so polarising…

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I think allies of David Davis are overreaching and going to damage their man fatally. This is becoming very ugly

I think allies of David Davis are overreaching and going to damage their man fatally. This is becoming very ugly

Allies of David Davis are claiming that Philip May wants his wife to stand down. May friends say it's a "black ops and untrue". Getting ugly — Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) July 15, 2017 David Davis branded Boris Johnson "a failure" and "toxic to his own sister" when the met at Spectator party. See Sunday Times — Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) July 15, 2017 Key Johnson and Davis acolytes threatened to kick each other in the bollocks last week. See my big…

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Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

So Andrea Leadsom might be keeping Mrs May in her job. https://t.co/61uAjuIJNx pic.twitter.com/1Z9HNwBYGV — TSE (@TSEofPB) July 15, 2017 For the second year running Andrea Leadsom is ensuring Theresa May is Prime Minister. Last night I observed the unofficial Tory leadership contest is increasing in its tempo and activity, today The Financial Times have more information on it. Some speculate Mr Davis might be given a “coronation” as the leadership candidate best placed to deliver Brexit, but few Tory MPs…

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