Has David Davis got this one right? Cameron did well at PMQs in answering Miliband’s points on a public inquiry into the hacking scandal but he was less at ease when pressed over the News International big take over all of BSkyB. On the face of it the decision this is all going ahead. The decision to allow the deal was taken by the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, three months ago and the process is near to completion. But as…
Guardian 20 Jan 2011 Have the politics of phone hacking changed? The Speccie’s James Forsyth has got a good take on the hacking affair on the Coffee House blog following the revelations about the Milly Dowler case. He writes:“The politics of the phone hacking saga have changed dramatically in the last 24 hours. Up to now, it has been a scandal that has been of huge interest in political and media circles but hasn’t cut through to the public. But…
How’s the Speaker/PM stand-off going to end? I’m just back from the longest break I’ve had from PB since it’s establishment in 2004 and am only now catching up on what’s happened in the past week and a half. The above encounter last Wednesday showing the readiness of the speaker to cut off the prime minister while in full flow in his final response to the opposition leader strikes me as being unprecedented which could have long lasting consequences. Certainly…
Ipsos-MORI And shouldn’t Ed being faring better amongst ex-LDs? As well as this morning’s voting intention figures we now have details of the pollster’s leadership ratings which have been asked in the same form for nearly a third of a century. As can be seen Cameron is almost at a standstill, Clegg sees an upturn from the previous seriously poor figures and Ed Miliband continues to struggle. In spite of Labour benefitting more than the Tories in the fall of…
Could they be in for a tricky conference season? Stan James has an interesting market on which of the three main party leaders will be the first to leave before. The exits have to take place before the next general election and there’s an option that all three will be in place. Clegg is 7/4 Miliband is 2/1 Cameron is 12/1 None of them 5/4 Politicians are a remarkably resilient lot and it takes a lot to shift someone who has got…
Will the cabinet stay intact until at least 2012? There are some very wise words on Olly Grender’s blog at the New Statesman about betting and the likelihood of a re-shuffle. “….From Caroline Spellman on forests, Kenneth Clarke on rape sentencing to Andrew Lansley on NHS reforms, politicians are no longer instantly losing their jobs. Instead they remain there to put things right. Even Vince Cable remained in post after the sting by the Telegraph (for which they were recently…
Is the issue still toxic for the blues? After a polling evening that has seen terrible news on voting intentions for the Lib Dems, a worrying picture on voters views of the economy and Labour, there’s are some tricky numbers for for the Tories in a ComRes/ ITV News poll on the health service changes. This found that voters are extremely pessimistic about NHS reform plans and Cameron’s handling of them. A large number are calling for the latest plans…
Is this a policy where there’ll be no U-turn? Almost whenever the public is polled on which areas of government expenditure should be cut Britain’s international aid programme comes near the top. Yet this, together with the NHS, are two parts of the government’s spending that were specifically ring-fenced at the general election and have continued to maintain their privileged status. This is in spite of sustained attacks from the tabloids on money being spent overseas at a time of…