While the UK gets itself in a jumble on Palestine or Israel our next door neighbour has no such qualms. Ireland is quite clearly fighting Palestine’s corner. Sinn Fein backing the Palestinians is no surprise, but the main parts of the Irish establishment have fallen into line too. Leo Varadkar has gone off script several times and has been arguing against the mainstream EU position much to the annoyance of Germany. The Irish President Michael D Higgins got into a…
Sky News are reporting on a YouGov poll they have commissioned Only one in 10 voters who supported the Tories in 2019 have switched to Labour, according to a major new poll for Sky News. The exclusive YouGov survey of 5,621 voters found 11% of 2019 Tory voters would now vote for Labour, while slightly more – 12% – have switched to Reform UK, a party to the right of the Conservatives. The fact that Labour is attracting fewer former Tory votes…
The Scottish Election Study use YouGov however due slight methodology variations YouGov advise not to compare them to YouGov’s own polls but rather compare them to previous Scottish Election Study polls. Redfield & Wilton has Labour & The SNP tied but even if Redfield & WIlton is accurate Humza Yousaf’s strategy about using the next Westminster general election to further Scottish independence might be flawed. TSE
Following the Covid-19 inquiry I think Boris Johnson’s reputation has been sufficiently shredded that his career in politics will not reach his previous political apotheoses. TSE
I did wonder if the events in the Middle East might be the blackest of black swans that upends Sir Keir Starmer general election victory. It is clear that the Labour Party is more focussed and sympathetic to the Palestinians than most voters, so Starmer’s actions on recent events could annoy plenty of Labour voters but he’s doing better than Corbyn which represents a real victory for Starmer. TSE
Given the Tory voting demographic (and indeed Tory members) I am sure these comments would have utterly cratered the Tory vote share to below Truss levels if Boris Johnson was still Prime Minister. Short of reversing Brexit not sure there is a worse way to micturate off Tory voters. TSE
Remember the fuss about Johnson’s WhatsApp messages during Covid, the government’s legal challenge to the S.21 demand made by the Covid Inquiry’s Chair and it losing that challenge? The issue of why the PM’s Principal Private Secretary turned on WhatsApp’s ‘disappearing message‘ function for the PM’s WhatsApp group just before the Inquiry was announced is exercising it right now. Now we have the Scottish version – only it appears to be worse, both for the Scottish politicians and civil servants…
I am now back from my short hospital break. Thanks for all the good wishes Mike Smithson