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Category: General Election

What if it was more than just a rogue “junior”?

What if it was more than just a rogue “junior”?

Could Darling/Brown be accused of being “less than frank”? Two main articles this morning – a competition devised and operated by the site’s regular stand-in editor, Paul Maggs, on the Australian general election and the ongoing implications for the government of the missing data affair. Amongst the acres of coverage of the missing data CDs there are two stories which have the potential to cause serious problems for both Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown. For they suggest that the issue…

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Will the Broxtowe cats lose out?

Will the Broxtowe cats lose out?

What will the data fiasco do to Nick Palmer’s bet? PBC’s most prolific and long-standing MP contributor, Nick Palmer, often enters into charity bets on the site where the loser, if it is not he, makes a donation to the Cats Protection League in his constituency of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire. One such current bet is that Labour will “not fall below 34% in an ICM poll before the end of 2007”. Given that the last survey had the party at…

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So what will they both say at PMQs?

So what will they both say at PMQs?

Will it be a third bloody session for Gord and his team? With a popular headline this morning being “Another day – another disaster” the Prime Minister cannot be looking forward to his weekly cross examination across the dispatch box at PMQs. This starts at noon. No doubt both Cameron and Brown have been preparing all morning and the interesting element will be whether there will be an attempt to pin the lost data issue on the Prime Minister. He…

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It’s 3/1 that he’ll be out this year

It’s 3/1 that he’ll be out this year

Will Gordon be saying “move over Darling”? Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling cannot have expected good headlines this morning and reproduced above are a selection of the front pages. There’s no denying it – this is bad. There’s no respite on the inside pages. The Sun’s leader sums it up simply under the headline “Strike Two”. This is a story that looks as though it could dog the government for months if not years. The big political question is how…

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The commons spread markets move to the Tories

The commons spread markets move to the Tories

Is this Labour’s biggest crisis in a decade? After what the Mole in The First Post is describing as Labour’s worst crisis in a decade of power there’s been movement on the commons seat spread markets so that for the first time since June Brown’s party is behind. In this form of betting you buy and sell the number of seats that the parties will get at the next election as though they were stocks and shares. Much of the…

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Why are older people giving up on Gordon?

Why are older people giving up on Gordon?

YouGov, like ICM, shows a big Labour deficit amongst the elderly On Tuesday I came under attack when I observed that the latest ICM poll had showed a very sharp difference in Tory lead amongst the 65+ age group. True – there is always a danger when you focus on sub-sets, like I was doing, that the picture could be be distorted. But when the same trend is seen across a number of surveys you can be more confident about…

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More poll gloom for Labour and Brown

More poll gloom for Labour and Brown

YouGov’s Tory lead moves from three to six per cent The second national voting intention survey since the Queen’s Speech has shown another biggish drop in the Labour share. These are the figures with comparisons on the last surveys from the pollster more than three weeks ago – CON 41% (nc): LAB 35% (-3): LD 13% (+2). This latest poll, for tomorrow’s Sunday Times means that Gordon Brown’s Labour has moved from an 11% margin to a 6% deficit in…

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Sean Fear’s Friday Slot

Sean Fear’s Friday Slot

A review of the key general election London seats London sees extensive boundary changes at the next election, which are neutral for the Conservatives, Labour, and Respect, while costing the Liberal Democrats one seat, Brent East, which is abolished. London loses one seat, having 73 in total. The Conservative seat of Hornchurch is abolished, while boundary changes convert Croydon Central and Hammersmith & Fulham (now Hammersmith) into Labour seats. Two new seats are created, Ealing Central & Acton, and Fulham…

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