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The Labour succession by “Red Sky MP”

The Labour succession by “Red Sky MP”

The latest thoughts from our mystery Labour MP With the elections behind us, Labour attention will shift rapidly to the change in leadership. It’s now generally accepted that there will either be no leadership contest or a Brown-McDonnell contest. There have been manoeuvres behind the scenes on the union side over this. The TGWU and Amicus leaderships see the McDonnell challenge as a distraction from the job of getting a good start with Gordon, but many activists disagree, and if…

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So was it all worth it Tony?

So was it all worth it Tony?

Will the Blair family be watching today’s 14 hour marathon? The BBC Parliament channel is again devoting a bank holiday Monday to a full repeat of the corporation’s coverage of a past general election. So if you are not completely sick of election results programmes following days of intensive coverage sit back and follow today’s 14 hour marathon broadcast of the dramatic events of May 1-2 1997 when the young man who had become the Labour member for Sedgefield 14…

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Thread 1: Could overturning this change the Scotland’s future?

Thread 1: Could overturning this change the Scotland’s future?

A two thread morning on PBC With the ramifications of Thursday elections continuing it is this result from Cunninghame North which might be the one that Labour seeks to use get back to its position previously unassailable position as the top party in Scotland. With such a very tight margin there are reports this morning that the ousted Labour MSP might mount a challenge in an effort to get the result over-turned. The case goes beyond the standard complaint following…

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Thread 2: Do the locals tell us much about a general election?

Thread 2: Do the locals tell us much about a general election?

Can we extrapolate in the way the Sunday Times does? Both the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph carry projections this morning about what Thursday’s results would mean in general election terms. In the Telegraph Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde suggests that the CON-LAB-LD split was 40%-27%-26% which he suggests would give the Tories an overall majority of 20 seats. The Sunday Times projection of a 54 overall seat for the Tories is based on work by Professors Colin Rallings…

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Invitation to PBers to the BPC mid-term conference

Invitation to PBers to the BPC mid-term conference

15th June 2007 at Central Hall Westminster. Storey’s Gate SW1H 9NH Cost: Please send a cheque for £30 payable to British Polling Council sent to ICM Research, Berkshire House, 168-173, High Holborn, London WC1V 7AA, together with your name, address and any organisation that you represent. By 1st June. For more information on the British polling Council please visit the BPC website – www.britishpollingcouncil.org This looks like an interesting day for a modest price and I am delighted that the…

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Is it wise for Darling to tell lies about the result?

Is it wise for Darling to tell lies about the result?

Why spin something that’s so easy to check? I’ve just heard cabinet minister Alistair Darling talking about the Scottish results on Radio 4’s Today Programme and at least six times he claimed that Labour and the SNP ended up with the same number of votes. If that’s the line that the spinners are taking then it’s a lie and, I would suggest very dangerous. Fact: The SNP got 664,227 (32.9%) of the votes in the constituency section on Thursday and…

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Is evens on Ming surviving a good value bet?

Is evens on Ming surviving a good value bet?

Will he still be leader at the General Election? In the immediate aftermath of the election results the Lib Dem leader, Ming Campbell, was forced onto the back foot with questions in TV interviews about his leadership style. In response he is quoted as saying: “Let me make it absolutely clear. I will be leading this party through this parliament, into the next election and into the parliament beyond.” William Hill have announced that they are offering evens that he…

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