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Category: Referendum

Has the NO to AV campaign got a message problem?

Has the NO to AV campaign got a message problem?

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Is this why it’s floundering in the polls? If the government’s business managers are able to get the referendum and constituencies bill through both houses then the referendum of voting reform will be put to the British people on May 5th – just eleven weeks away. Away from Westminster the big developments in the past few days have been a move to the YES camp in the polling. With two firms asking very different questions showing the same trend then…

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How the coalition plans to beat the filibuster

How the coalition plans to beat the filibuster

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Are MPs and peers about to lose their half term holiday? The whole effort by Labour peers to filibuster the AV referendum and constituencies bill has been driven by the apparent need for the legislation to be in place by next Wednesday to meet the May 5th election date. For there’s a legal requirement that there has to be 10 weeks between a measure for a referendum getting the royal assent and the date of the election. But as Michael…

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Does the Rooker amendment give Nick Clegg a blank cheque?

Does the Rooker amendment give Nick Clegg a blank cheque?

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Could AV be introduced even if the country voted NO? So Monday’s vote (a squeaker at 219 Content vs 218 Not-content) in the House of Lords was on an amendment introduced by Lord Rooker, and read simply: “If less than 40% of the electorate vote in the referendum, the result shall not be binding” Ignoring for one moment the rights and wrongs of turnout thresholds, I’m not sure what impact this might have on the respective campaigns. My first thought…

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Why aren’t all pollsters asking referendum questions?

Why aren’t all pollsters asking referendum questions?

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Latest AV referendum polls Date YES % NO % Question wording YouGov/Sun 07/02/11 38 (+6) 39 (-2) Bespoke wording – referring to the fact that this is a proposal from the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition Angus Reid/ 25/01/11 37 21 Actual wording on the ballot ComRes/Indy on Sunday 14/01/11 36 30 Actual wording on the ballot ICM/Guardian 19/12/10 44 38 Actual wording on the ballot Meanwhile YouGov moves more into line on the referendum In the past fortnight we’ve had new…

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Enter PB’s 1,000 pound AV referendum challenge?

Enter PB’s 1,000 pound AV referendum challenge?

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Lurkers and posters alike make your predictions now With just twelve weeks to go before the May 5th election the bookmakers, William Hills have agreed to provide a competition prize of £1,000 of free bets to the PBer who makes the closest prediction to the AV referendum result. All you have got to do is to record on the thread below what you think the YES percentage will be to within two decimal points. The prize will got to the…

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Will EdM’s move be more helpful to YES than to NO?

Will EdM’s move be more helpful to YES than to NO?

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Guardian Should Clegg remain invisible for the entire campaign? The Guardian is reporting this morning that Ed Miliband has told the YES campaign that he will not share a platform with Nick Clegg because he believes that the Lib Dem leader is so toxic to Labour supporters that it could affect the outcome. Apparently the Labour leader is happy to share platforms with other prominent Lib Dems – Ashdown/William/Kennedy etc – but not the leader. Given the way that Labour…

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Is Cameron planning to “betray” his party over AV?

Is Cameron planning to “betray” his party over AV?

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Independent Are we seeing another OES-type move to help Nick? Andrew Grice in the Independent is reporting this morning that there’s growing concern in Tory ranks over what David Cameron might be planning over electoral reform . He writes: “There are growing fears among Tory backbenchers that some Cameron allies would be privately relaxed about a Yes vote in the referendum, since it would give Mr Clegg a big prize and almost certainly ensure that the Coalition lasted until the…

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