Henry G Manson says that party selections rarely leave clean hands

Henry G Manson says that party selections rarely leave clean hands

Even Maggie received “help” to get Finchley Bismarck said “laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” The same could certainly be said of parliamentary selections. The scrutiny of Labour’s Falkirk selection has generated a good deal of recent media coverage and much of this can be put down to the fascination of Unite, the largest trade union in the country. It suits Conservative strategists and even some in the Labour Party to paint a…

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Harry Hayfield’s Local By-Election Special

Harry Hayfield’s Local By-Election Special

Aylsham on Broadland (Con Defence) Last Local Election Result (2011): Con 34, Lib Dem 12, Lab 1 (Con majority of 21) Ward Result (emboldened denotes elected) Name of party First Candidate Second Candidate Third Candidate Conservative 1,336 1,253 1,010 Liberal Democrats 1,182 846 752 Labour 542 471 Greens 446 Broadland covers the area of Norfolk that is just to the north of Norwich City (and by a strange quirk of how these things are organised, are the main authority involved…

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Ladrokes offering evens that the SNP will increase the number Westminster MPs at GE2015

Ladrokes offering evens that the SNP will increase the number Westminster MPs at GE2015

Ladbrokes have an interesting bet up on the number of SNP MPs at Westminster after the next general election. The prices are evens that it will be above 6.5 and evens that it will be below. The big election between now and 2015, of course, is the Scottish Indy referendum in September 2014. If YES wins then, I’d assume, there’d still be Scottish MPs in the UK parliament until a full transfer of power has taken place. If it’s NO…

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The Tory YouGov mini-surge seems to be over

The Tory YouGov mini-surge seems to be over

The LAB lead setting down to pre-spending review levels Almost no change in today's YouGov Sun poll CON 32 LAB 40 LD 9 UKIP 13 For the 3rd consecutive day the LDs in single figures — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 4, 2013 Mike Smithson For the latest polling and political betting news Follow @MSmithsonPB

PB Nighthawks is now open

PB Nighthawks is now open

  Home of the web’s best political conversation On A Night Like This, why not relax, and converse into the night on the day’s events in PB NightHawks. If you’re a lurker, this thread is Especially For You,  ignore the Better The Devil You Know, and delurk tonight. I Should Be So Lucky if a few of you choose to delurk tonight. The round up of recent events (click on the links below, and it will bring up the relevant…

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Dave was doing OK at PMQs but he raised Unite just too many times

Dave was doing OK at PMQs but he raised Unite just too many times

How many people know who Len McCluskey actually is? The most interesting feature of PMQs today was actually the new line of attack from EdM on free schools. Why are the government funding new schools in areas where there are surplus places when at the same time when there are parts of the country with desperate shortages? This got buried under the barrage from Cameron on UNITE and the Falkirk selection. It got a good response initially but then Dave…

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The methods used by the big unions to get Ed Milliband elected in 2010 are why he has to stand up to UNITE now

The methods used by the big unions to get Ed Milliband elected in 2010 are why he has to stand up to UNITE now

The row over the Falkirk selection could make or break him Mail packs, such as the one featured above from the GMB union to those of its members entitled to vote in Labour’s leadership election, played a pivotal role in EdM’s victory September 2010. They were developed for the GMB, UNISON and UNITE unions to get round a Labour party ban on candidates’ promotional materials being included in the voting packs for the election. Instead the ballot papers were nested…

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