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Category: Coalition

Was the rhetoric for the coalition over-blown in the first place?

Was the rhetoric for the coalition over-blown in the first place?

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Ipsos-MORI Did Dave/Nick set expectations that were too high? We got the Ipsos-MORI numbers yesterday but this chart from the firm is worth looking at for the way it illustrates the trend. On every measure voters have become disillusioned with the coalition and I wonder if part of the problem was that there were so much hope for it on its creation. Looking back the deal in May 2010 was over-sold. There was too much big rhetoric for something that…

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Is David Laws right – the coalition WILL last the course?

Is David Laws right – the coalition WILL last the course?

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But what if Dave or Nick were to step aside? David Laws, the Lib Dem cabinet minister who had to resign after serving less than a month, has an interesting piece in the Telegraph in which he predicts that the coalition will continue through to a 2015 general election. He concludes:- “..Many predicted there would be a rhythm to this Parliament – unity in the beginning, differentiation in the middle, and divergence at the end. Over the past six months,…

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The campaign that’s turning Romney main asset into a liability

The campaign that’s turning Romney main asset into a liability

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For now Obama is winning the battle of Bain From the start of his effort to become president the key plank of Mitt Romney’s proposition was that his business career made him uniquely qualified to deal with the massive challenge of the US economy. For a long period this was backed up by the polling. Now that’s starting to change – particularly in the key swing states where the Obama campaign about Mitt at Bain is being targeted. On top…

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On the eve of the long parliamentary holiday…

On the eve of the long parliamentary holiday…

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Welcome to the PB NightHawks cafe As regulars will know this is the place for our overnight informal political conversation. Have a good evening. UPDATE – Some points from tonight’s Populus and YouGov polls Boost for the Lib Dems in the July telephone poll from Populus for the Times.LAB 40(-1), CON 34 (+1), LD 12(+3). — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 16, 2012 Populus “Which ministers should get the boot ratings”: Lansley 53%/Hunt 48%/Theresa May 46%/Osborne 45%/Ken Clarke 36%/Hague 20% —…

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Could Osborne be in for a move in the re-shuffle?

Could Osborne be in for a move in the re-shuffle?

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Will Dave listen to Trevor Kavanagh’s advice? Coming up in early September, if we are to believe the weekend papers, is Cameron’s planned reshuffle. This is due to take place on the first weekend of the month ahead of the return of parliament and the conference season. Given that this is likely to be the only shuffle before the election its importance cannot be understated. The problem is that reshuffles can be very dangerous for prime minister especially after rebellions…

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What are the chances of the next election being fought on the new boundaries?

What are the chances of the next election being fought on the new boundaries?

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What is your assessment of the chances of the next general election being fought on the new boundaries? A 0-20% chance 21-40% 41-60% 61-80% 81-100%      Will the blues get their 20 seat bonus? There’s one issue that’s going to dominate politics over the next year or so following last week’s Tory backbench rebellion on the government’s Lords reform plan. By October 2013 the planned boundary changes for the 2015 general election will have been finalised and it will…

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