How could the public debate be made more accessable? The Sunday Times yesterday led with a story that Whitehall Mandarins are drafting plans for public sector spending cuts of up to 20%. This has not apparently been ordered by the government, and doesn’t form part of the Opposition liaison that takes place in the run-up to a General Election: this appears to be unbidden, out of a fear that such cuts will be required, even if they cannot be discussed…
Could we see support for “others” start to recede? Siesta time on my Spanish holiday and a quick look at PB reveals that there’s a longing for a new poll so people can get a sense of whether things are changing. By my reckoning the next main public poll from one of the mainstream pollsters should come from Populus in the Times tomorrow evening. In June the firm came out with what proved to be the smallest Tory share –…
Is her resignation a masterstroke or a blunder? It could be the start of the 2012 presidential election campaign or it could be the end of that of 2008. Former Republican Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as Governor of Alaska later this month has raised a lot of questions but answered few. In her announcement, in which she rambled and at times rivalled John Prescott’s ability to string non-sequiturs together, she gave few reasons other than the pressures…
A betting adjudication I might be on holiday but PB seems to follow me everywhere – even to this stunning sherry port of Sanlucar where Jacky and I have just arrived on the next stage of our holiday which marks our 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Thanks to those who helped bank-roll the trip – notably all those who didn’t vote in the Euro elections which meant that the big positions I took on turnout being below 35% proved to be…
Peter, Baron Mandelson, President of Europe? It’s not often that I completely disagree with Our Genial Host, but this week he suggested that Peter Mandelson, Baron of Hartlepool and Foy, was perhaps not as masterful at modern politics as had been claimed. Personally, I think he has handled his third time in the Cabinet with more poise and prowess than he brought to his previous times in office. Indeed, he has yet to have a finger laid on him (those…
Has Cameron gambled on the expenses issue going away? Yesterday’s news that George Osborne is to be investigated over his expense claims puts the issue back into the news. I suspect that in the public’s mind it never really went away. Largely ignored last week, in the news maelstrom surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, was an announcement that the Conservative Scrutiny Panel had finished its work. Reportedly no MPs were to be disciplined, and it looks like no Shadow Cabinet Ministers…
Will voters simply choose the nice guys? In the last fortnight, there have been a number of occasions when David Cameron has attacked Gordon Brown’s honesty – over debt levels, claims about capital spending, and over growth targets. The language used has been a little more stark than the usual false pleasantries cast across the Dispatch Boxes, and it has been chased up by some corners of the Fourth and Fifth Estates respectively. I can understand the thinking – if…
Could Swine Flu prove the joker in the pack? Looking at the Politics Home news charts, which measures the column inches of each major story, the largest rises are the news that Shadow Chancellor George Osborne is to be investigated over his expenses, and that Health Secretary Andy Burnham has warned the Commons that Britain could see 100,000 cases of Swine Flu per day by August. Like BSE and Foot’n’Mouth in years past, nothing dominates news coverage like a domestic…