Is it going to help or hinder him in his quest for the top job? Our chart shows the betting price on Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership over the past three days and reflects the very mixed feelings there are amongst punters. For as can be seen there has been a tightening on the Brown price but he is still not quite as firm a favourite as he was on Monday before the Turnbull “Brown like Stalin” story broke….
Finally Lost One! It’s taken six weeks but we finally suffered our first defeat in the weekly contest with Anthony Wells of YouGov and his Politicians’ Popularity Index. In fact it should be ‘I suffered’ because for reasons we won’t go into, I did all the selections last week. Benn’s improvement was a surprise. Maybe there’s an instructive cross-reference to his performance in the Deputy Leader race. If he’s still available at 3/1 for that, I’d be tempted. Hague was…
Are IG On The Run? When IG sportingly created a Politicians’ Popularity market, it doubtless expected to make a little profit from its collaboration with YouGov. The trading is understandably light and one suspects that most of the punting is coming from PB regulars. If so, one has to wonder if IG is making any money at all. This is the fifth week of competition and our fourth success. The other week was a draw. Last week’s main recommendation to…
The Sun Shines on Johnson One highlight in another generally quiet week was the Sun’s support for Deputy Leadership candidate, Alan Johnson. Never underestimate the influence of the old currant bun. He’s this week’s best buy – 2 points at 83.3 The other best values are probably to be found amongst the ‘sells’. Look for those who are having a bit of a quiet time. Hilary Benn fits the bill, especially as he starts from a high perch; Tony Blair…
How about this for a good Labour leadership bet? The spread betting firm, Cantor Spreadfair, have an interesting market on the Labour leadership which offers a neat profit opportunity on John McDonnnell, if you think he’s going to run and come in second. The firm has created a spread market so that 25pts awarded to the next Labour Party leader and 10pts to the runner up. All others will settle at 0pts. If there is no contest then 25pts are…
Peter the Punter’s Political Pointer In a light news week, the focus has been heavily on David Cameron’s past and the possibility he used illegal drugs. Have Dave’s ambitions gone up in a puff of smoke? Is his future on the line? Are his chances shot? Not a bit of it, if PB.com posters are anything to go by! On the evidence of last night’s thread you would have to say his prospects had been if anything enhanced, as commentators…
Has a woman ever failed when she has got so close? Before the weekend the publishers of my book now called “The Political Punter – How to make money by betting on politics”, emailed to suggest that I write an additional chapter with my calls on the 2007 French Presidential election, the 2008 White House race and the next UK General Election. No pressure there then! For by the time of the French election at the end of April and…
Introducing the Five P column A couple of weeks ago IG Index introduced a new political spread betting market based upon the results of YouGov’s Political Popularity poll. IG invited punters to bet on the movements, up or down, of selected leading politicians in their ‘Brand Index’ poll. Aaron Bell wrote a piece in response and gave his recommended buys and sells. It was intended to be a regular weekly piece but unfortunately he cannot continue and so you’ve got…