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Category: General Election

Is Johnson right about Labour not attacking “Tory Toffs”?

Is Johnson right about Labour not attacking “Tory Toffs”?

Will the “politics of envy” really lose votes for Labour? With several leading Labour figures urging that the party should make David Cameron’s privileged background a key differentiator at the next election there’s been a warning against this strategy by the only Cabinet member not to go to university, Alan Johnson. According to the Independent the education secretary made a speech yesterday that “will be seen as a warning to Labour not to make personal attacks on David Cameron and…

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Will the Times bring more good news for Gordon?

Will the Times bring more good news for Gordon?

How will the Populus version of the “named leader” question come out? Amidst all the reverberations from February’s ICM poll showing the Tories 13% ahead of Labour when Cameron and Brown are named as leaders few have recalled that a similar poll just two weeks earlier had the margin at just one per cent. In fact in that survey, by Populus, Labour had a 3% deficit in the headline figures that was reduced to just one point when Brown was…

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What do we think of Frank Luntz on Cameron-Brown?

What do we think of Frank Luntz on Cameron-Brown?

Is the US pollster right on the language that both men are adopting? This, I know, is getting into dangerous territory because two words that lead to the biggest explosions on PBC are “Frank” and “Luntz” – ever since the US pollster’s famous “focus group” screened on Newsnight during the Conservative Party conference in October 2005. In this week’s edition of the Spectator, out this morning, Luntz is the author of the cover feature on how both men use language…

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Who’ll be goaded into losing his temper first?

Who’ll be goaded into losing his temper first?

Do both men share the same weakness – having low flash-points? Politics is going through an appalling period which must be equally frustrating for all the parties. For we know that barring a political earthquake the next election will be the Gordon and Dave show yet even the most experienced observers cannot predict confidently how this will pan out. This encounter has been on the cards since Cameron’s likely victory in the Tory race became apparent October 2005 and yet…

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Has this been made to be as damaging as possible?

Has this been made to be as damaging as possible?

Will Labour MPs respond to the Guardian’s call for Brown to be challenged? This is the front page of the Guardian that will be screaming out across newstands throughout the UK this morning and it looks as though it has been designed deliberately to make it as damaging as possible for the Chancellor. For as any newspaper man or woman will tell you it is what appears “above the fold” that matters – and with the numbers 29-42 splashed there…

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ICM puts the Tories back at 40%

ICM puts the Tories back at 40%

..and the pollster reports a 13% lead if it’s Cameron vs Brown A huge boost for David Cameron’s Tories is reported to be in tomorrow’s ICM poll for the Guardian. According to CONHome the figures are with changes on last month CON 40 (+3): LAB 31 (nc): LD 19% (-4). This is only the third time that ICM has recorded a 40% share or more for the Tories in a decade and a half and the nine point margin puts…

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Are all parties scared of the motoring lobby?

Are all parties scared of the motoring lobby?

How can green agendas be pursued in the face of onslaughts like this? The News of the world is running a big feature today, part of which is reproduced here, launching a campaign on motoring taxation. This follows a week which has seen the Downing Street website petition on road pricing attract more than a million supporters and comes on the eve of a massive extension of London’s congestion charging zone. The question that all parties have to face is…

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Have the markets got the General Election wrong?

Have the markets got the General Election wrong?

What’s the basis of the Tories being favourites? The chart shows the changing prices on the Tories and Labour winning most seats at the next general election. As can be seen Labour was seen by punters as being in a very strong position and was favourite in the betting right until May-June of last year. The Tory sentiment reached its peak at the end of October and since then the prices have got much closer. This morning you can get…

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