But could “events” put a smile back on their faces? In a radio interview being reported today, the boss of pollster, ComRes, Andrew Hawkins is suggesting that the election is in the bag the for the Tories. He said: “If Gordon Brown stays in post until the General Election then despite the protest that this will elicit from Tories then yes it is a done deal… “On the analysis we’ve done going back over theg last 4 years worth of…
Could Osborne’s plan cost the Tories votes? The front page of the Daily Mail sets the scene and the tone for today’s big news – the announcement from shadow chancellor, George Osborne that from 2016 the male retirement age will be moved from 65 to 66. This means that many in their late 50s who were looking forward to retirement and their pension in only a few years are going to find they they’ll have to wait a year longer….
BBC Newsnight 16 minutes in And is Darling helping the Tories move on from Lisbon? If you didn’t watch BBC 2’s Newsnight last night then check it out on the BBC IPlayer – 16 minutes in. This is one of the most enjoyable Paxman interviews for a long time and will rank, surely, alongside his famous encounters with Michael Howard and John Reid. The issue, of course, is the Lisbon Treaty and what the Tories would do if on winning…
CON 40% (-1) LAB 27% (-2) LD 20%(+3) And the Lib Dems continue to poll well I assume that this is based on fieldwork that was carried out last night and first thing this morning. To a question of who people thought would perform best in the TV debate the split was: Cameron 49%; Brown 12%; Clegg 15%. So the Tories will be quite pleased that their lead has increased while the Lib Dem will be delighted that once again…
Is this worth a punt? Ladbrokes has put a couple of interesting referendum markets up this morning one of which offers some value. This is the 10/1 shot that there will be a referendum on the Lisbon treat during 2010. The price looks quite tempting. Clearly it requires the Tories to win the election and then to go forward with a referendum plan that happens before the end of next year. As of now the party is only committed to…
Could the Bullingdon attacks still have potency? In her first Conservative Conference week drawing PB’s cartoonist, Marf, touches on an area of potential vulnerability that Andrew Marr sought to bring up in his BBC1 interview with David Cameron yesterday – the perception that the leadership are “toffs” who who don’t really understand so called “ordinary people”. From some of the rhetoric in Brighton last week we can deduce that Labour is toying with how best to use this aspect of…
What about the 7/4 bet that it won’t happen? Long-standing poster, Alex, made what I think was an astute comment on the leaders’ debates on an earlier thread. He wrote: “The leader debates won’t happen IMO. The fact that all three leaders have agreed “in principle†is not a novel occurrence. They often agree in principle, knowing that the legal and logistical minefield is always likely to be insurmountable.” They all want different things. Brown wants “one to ones” starting…
Is Blair’s being “all things to all people” the right approach? So we are nearly there – the final party conference before the general election – and all the pressure is on Cameron and his Tory team to spell out what a Conservative government would do. But is setting out in detail the party’s plans the wrong approach for it just provides ammunition for his opponents to pick at and then throw back at him? Thus far being evasive has…