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Author: Mike Smithson

A big gap has opened up among the pollsters

A big gap has opened up among the pollsters

The LAB lead varies between 14% and 27% Hopefully today we will see the first GB voting poll following the events of Monday on the moves relating to the Northern Ireland protocol. Sunak has played a leading role here and has been getting a good press. This comes at a time when there appears to have been a slight narrowing in Labour’s lead as can be seen from the Wikipedia chart table above. My guess is that over the next…

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Better CON polls will likely send this betting in the opposite direction

Better CON polls will likely send this betting in the opposite direction

What has become clear over the past couple of days is that Sunak appears to be doing very well – certainly much better than he was. A big question is whether this will be reflected in the polls and my guess is that we will see the Labour lead in one of two surveys slip quite sharply. As far as I can see the best betting opportunity is on who will win most seats at the next general election where…

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Is Sunak really a secret Remainer?

Is Sunak really a secret Remainer?

Since his speech in Northern Ireland yesterday a number of commentators have observed the passion in which the Prime Minister spoke about the benefits of the single market. This of course begs the question that if this is okay for that part of the UK why shouldn’t other parts benefit? That could have almost been a speech for Remain in a referendum campaign. No doubt selected quotes from what he said yesterday will be used by those who are pressing…

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Can we now Rule out a Johnson comeback?

Can we now Rule out a Johnson comeback?

One of the big issues that Sunak has had to face over the past weeks and months is that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson might be planning a comeback. Any such move of course would involve Rishi losing his job. The former Mayor of London and later PM has yet to fully acknowledge that the world has changed and that it is going to be increasingly harder for him to get involved at a senior level within the party apart…

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The problem for Sunak remains – most voters think Brexit was wrong

The problem for Sunak remains – most voters think Brexit was wrong

Yesterday was undoubtedly a big victory for Sunak but that is not the end of the matter. At some stage he will have to face up to the change in opinion on Brexit itself as evidenced in all the polls. The above is based on the regular YouGov Brexit tracker that it has been asking every month since the referendum in June 2016 At some point surely Starmer and the Labour Party will realise that they need a policy in…

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Will Sunak’s position be stronger or weaker after today?

Will Sunak’s position be stronger or weaker after today?

Ex-PM Johnson isn’t helping However you look at it this is a massive day for the prime minister Rishi Sunak. Very quietly and very secretly over the past few weeks he has been trying to broker a deal with Brussels, Irish Republicans, and the DUP about the Northern Ireland protocol. This was introduced by Boris Johnson as part of his efforts to get Brexit done. What has been quite impressive is that we don’t know what is in the deal…

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Kate Forbes tops a Scottish poll

Kate Forbes tops a Scottish poll

But punters continue to back Yousaf This is how the S Times is reporting its Panelbase poll of Scottish voters. Note though that it will be SNP members who finally decide: Nearly a quarter of those surveyed (23 per cent) would like Forbes to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation this month, while 15 per cent favour Yousaf and 7 per cent prefer Ash Regan, the former community safety minister..Among SNP supporters Forbes leads Yousaf as the favoured successor…

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