Donald Brind says that if Ken is expelled it will be a Labour gain

Donald Brind says that if Ken is expelled it will be a Labour gain

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Those who care about the Palestinians have to be careful how they attack Israel Let me say at the start that I deplore the government of Benjamin Netanyahu which I believe uses overwhelming military power to make life misery for people in neighbouring territories. When the occupied people react violently to the oppression the response ordered by Netanyahu is, I’d argue, routinely disproportionate. My rather strangulated prose is to illustrate a point. If you believe in justice for the Palestinians…

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Sadiq Khan 20% ahead of Goldsmith according to Survation phone poll

Sadiq Khan 20% ahead of Goldsmith according to Survation phone poll

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New Survation London Mayoral poll has Khan 15% ahead Khan 49%Zac 34%UKIP 5%LD 3%GRN 3% — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 28, 2016 Survation Mayoral poll after allocating 2nd prefsKhan 60%Zac 40% — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 28, 2016 Survation Mayoral poll was by phone & carried out from Apr 21 to 25 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 28, 2016 So on the face of it a great poll for Sadiq Khan, Labour, Corbyn and those PBers who got on the…

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Choosing Cameron’s successor – the process and the possibles

Choosing Cameron’s successor – the process and the possibles

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Alastair Meeks thinks they’ll select in completely the wrong way Epigone is an underused word.  Originating from the ancient Greek for “offspring”, it means “undistinguished successor”, referring to the sons of the Seven Against Thebes who sought to avenge their fathers. Politics is littered with epigoni.  Margaret Thatcher was followed by John Major, who had imbibed the economics but lacked the lustre.  John Major was followed by William Hague, who lacked not just the lustre but also the gravitas.  William…

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It’s not just LAB that has an anti semitic problem

It’s not just LAB that has an anti semitic problem

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Jan 2015 “Jews have too much influence in this country”Agree: UKIP voters 18%; Labour voters 10%; Tory voters 9%.https://t.co/5XSPrK1Q2H — Tim Bale (@ProfTimBale) April 28, 2016 On a day dominated by the extraordinary events within Labour and the suspension of the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, Prof Tim Bale has Tweeted about some 2015 polling. As can be seen those sampled were asked whether they thought that “Jews have too much influence on this country”. 18% of Ukip voters…

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Next Thursday could start to restore our confidence in the polls

Next Thursday could start to restore our confidence in the polls

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Alastair Meeks on the importance of the London, Scottish & Welsh surveys The 2015 general election was a disaster for the polling companies. On the eve of the election, all the pollsters were predicting a hung Parliament with the Conservatives and Labour neck and neck. In the event, the Conservatives were 6% ahead of Labour and got an overall majority. Since then, the pollsters have flagellated themselves, put on hair shirts and sought to uncover what exactly went wrong. They…

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This week’s TV show: The Obama EURef effect, the fight to be his replacement, & the battle to win Wales

This week’s TV show: The Obama EURef effect, the fight to be his replacement, & the battle to win Wales

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ThePB/Polling Matters TV Show and Podcast This week in the TV studio Keiran Pedley and I were joined by pollster Rob Vance and, via Skype, by the leading Welsh political expert, Professor Roger Scully of Cardiff University. (apologies for one or two sound issues) The latter was particularly interesting given the Tata Steel decision and the proximity of the Welsh Assembly elections on next week on May 5th. Next week there’ll be no TV studio because of partners in this…

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Immigration looks set to be Leave’s last card

Immigration looks set to be Leave’s last card

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Alastair Meeks looks at the outers The Remain side has started the fight at a furious pace, leaving Leave gasping for air after two blows to its solar plexus.  First, it got hit by a Treasury report claiming that by 2030 each British household could be £4,300 worse off if it voted to leave the EU.  Then Barack Obama weighed in with his view that if Britain were to vote to leave the EU, it would join the back of…

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