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Author: David Herdson

How does the government deal with the bank bonus issue?

How does the government deal with the bank bonus issue?

Just how untouchable is the City? The explanation that the global recession was caused by a crisis in the banking industry has been oft-repeated by politicians over the last three years. It’s understandably attractive for them to do so. Not only is it a simple, plausible account of the cause of the problem but it also means that it’s neither their fault nor that of the general public. Consequently, bankers have had something of an image problem – and still…

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Is the Lib Dem poll slump an image thing?

Is the Lib Dem poll slump an image thing?

< And what implications for the by-election? One of the most striking features of the opinion poll movements since the general election is the disparity between the performance of the two coalition partners. The Conservatives have never polled less than their election score of 37% with YouGov, although they have been a little lower with other firms. By contrast, the Lib Dems have lost close to two-thirds of theirs if the most recent YouGov survey is on the mark. Other...

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Do the Tories have a Fuel Duty problem looming?

Do the Tories have a Fuel Duty problem looming?

What happened to Osborne’s Fair Fuel Stabiliser? Two years ago, George Osborne launched a consultation on reform of Fuel Duty, with the aims of mitigating petrol prices when the they were high, keeping government revenue roughly neutral and providing greater certainty for motorists, business and government alike. We’ve not heard much of it since. That’s a shame because motorists are currently being hit by a triple whammy that’s pushed petrol up to record levels and will increase it still further….

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David Herdson’s predictions for 2011

David Herdson’s predictions for 2011

Can it match the surprises of 2010? Goodbye to 2010 then, a year that saw more that its fair share of turn-ups. How many of us would have predicted that there’d be a Con-LD coalition government running the country? Who’d have been brave enough to predict Ed Miliband would be leading Labour? Would any of us have foreseen that during the year the Lib Dems would have polled either a first place – ahead of both the Tories and Labour, following…

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Is Michael Gove the value bet as “Next To Leave”?

Is Michael Gove the value bet as “Next To Leave”?

How many mistakes is one too many? Michael Gove appears to have performed so many U-turns this month that perhaps he should have been the cabinet member on Strictly Come Dancing. He’s certainly required fancy political footwork to come out of the episode without too much damage, having firstly changed his mind on the funding of school sports and then again on provision of free books. This comes on top of embarrassments during the summer when his department released inaccurate…

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How will the parties campaign in OE&S?

How will the parties campaign in OE&S?

How do they motivate the voters at Holiday time? It is unlikely that Saddleworth in January has ever been mistaken for Barbados. It is also unlikely that there will be a surge of enthusiasm in the next two weeks from local voters to discover the intricacies of the various candidates’ policies in the forthcoming by-election to succeed Phil Woolas. The combination of these two things will make the Oldham East & Saddleworth election different from the norm and the parties…

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MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

  MPs regional breakdown Aye votes No votes Abstentions Total England 311 209 8 528 Northern Ireland 0 12 6 18 Scotland 6 51 2 59 Wales 8 32 0 40 ALL MPs 325 304 16 645 A guest slot on the big vote and the West Lothian Question Linlithgow and East Falkirk includes much of the late, lamented constituency of West Lothian. Last week its Labour MP, Michael Connarty, was one of 51 Scottish representatives to vote against Higher…

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