How winning a political bet can get you into trouble

How winning a political bet can get you into trouble

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This story in the Mail on Sunday makes me like Frank Field even more. http://t.co/YkpgxFTzmK pic.twitter.com/0fDSOtJasW — TSE (@TSEofPB) June 28, 2015 Just don’t tell anyone you bet on your own side losing I like this story in the Mail on Sunday, Frank Field the Labour MP for Birkenhead and Matthew Taylor, Tony Blair’s former head of policy and who wrote the 2005 Labour manifesto both bet on the Tories winning a majority in May. This has understandably earned the…

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Schrödinger’s referendum as Boris wants voters to vote both Yes and No to leaving the EU

Schrödinger’s referendum as Boris wants voters to vote both Yes and No to leaving the EU

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Today’s Sunday Times is reporting (££) BORIS JOHNSON is preparing to call for a no vote in Britain’s referendum on the European Union in an attempt to extract greater concessions from Brussels than David Cameron is demanding. In a stance that puts him on a collision course with the prime minister, the mayor of London believes Britain should reject any deal Cameron puts forward because the EU will not give enough ground. Johnson has told friends that a no vote…

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In Greece the crisis over the Euro is set to become a Drachma

In Greece the crisis over the Euro is set to become a Drachma

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See the footnote RT @JohnRentoul Looks as if Grexit really is going to happen either next week or after referendum pic.twitter.com/T4MHCgUMAx — TSE (@TSEofPB) June 27, 2015 Very surreal atmosphere in press room here in Brussels. One journalist in tears. Most reporters shocked euro rupture is happening. #Greece — Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) June 27, 2015 It appears, unsurprisingly, that all the bookies have suspended their markets on the outcome of the referendum and Greek exiting the Euro after this announcement…

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Dave’s European Challenge has become very big and very real

Dave’s European Challenge has become very big and very real

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Cameron could win the vote and still lose his job Selling the deal to the country was always going to be the easy bit. The tough ask for David Cameron is selling it to his party. The outcome of this week’s summit is, in that sense, one step forwards and two steps back. Simply getting the issue formally into the EU’s ongoing agenda was an achievement but one that is heavily diluted by the acceptance that there’ll be no treaty…

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Greece is the word for the next few days

Greece is the word for the next few days

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Blimey. http://t.co/EXUOh5EZsL #AcropolisNow pic.twitter.com/U0FuVS3dot — TSE (@TSEofPB) June 26, 2015 It will be a case of this referendum dominating events for the eight days at least, and undoubtedly longer, it appears that Alexis Tsipras is trying to give their creditors a Grecian Burn, how will they respond? The Guardian reported last week that A recent opinion poll for the news website Newsit showed as many as 74% of Greeks back the euro – with fully 50% saying they would be prepared…

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Don Brind says Labour hopefuls know their party’s future isn’t in their hands

Don Brind says Labour hopefuls know their party’s future isn’t in their hands

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It’s one of the toughest gigs in politics – going on after TV after a defeat to explain that, really,  your party had done quite well in the circumstances. The man holding the Labour short straw on the BBC on Friday morning April 10th 1992 was a middle-rankingsShadow minister — one Tony Blair.  I came across the BBC archive on YouTube few days ago, which is the video above, I didn’t see it at the time having worked through the…

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Guest Slot: Social media and shy rightwingers

Guest Slot: Social media and shy rightwingers

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Tissue Price on the polling errors across Europe The inquest into the polling disaster at the UK General Election continues. Matt Singh of NumberCruncherPolitics provided an excellent overview of the pollsters’ initial thoughts last week, ahead of the first meeting of the official BPC/MRS inquiry. Some pollsters think faulty sampling was the principal cause of error, some blame turnout modelling, and one thinks a genuine late swing was the biggest single factor. Dan Hodges channels Emile Zola in accusing the…

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Local By-Election Preview : June 25th 2015

Local By-Election Preview : June 25th 2015

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Market and West Deeping on South Kesteven (Deferred Election: One Conservative Defence and Two Independent Defences from 2011) Result of council at last full election (2011): Conservatives 39, Independents 12, Labour 6, Liberal Democrats 1 (Conservative majority of 20) Result of ward at last full election (2011) : Emboldened denotes elected Conservatives: 959, 766 (40%) Independents: 847, 844, 533 (35%) Green Party: 622, 330, 302 (26%) Candidates duly nominated: Conservative: Nick Neilson Liberal Democrats: Adam Brookes Independents: Ashley Baxter, Bob…

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