The Easter Saturday PB Nighthawk cafe
Home of the web’s best political conversation Relax, and converse into the night on the day’s events.
David Herdson calls for an Easter resurrection of Pontius Pilate’s reputation
Would 21st century politicians would have any acted differently? The politician allowing the unjust crucifixion of the Son of God was never going to get a particularly good press by history, particularly one the Church wrote. Pilate accepting Christ’s innocence only causes his reputation to fall further: cynical political cowardice set against selfless suffering. Yet the Church’s authorship of the story and the priorities of religion (as against government) do have quite a dramatic distorting effect. Politics, after all, is…
The Saturday front pages are just starting to come through
Keep refreshing to make sure you get all of them
The Good Friday open thread
Big Ben through the railings twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st… — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 28, 2013 This is a pic I took on Monday while in Westminster for a briefing on the May 2 local elections. I’m off on holiday for a few days and unless there are big developments I don’t envisage posting very much. We are having a break at Ilkley in Yorkshire in a cottage with my daughter’s family including two of our grandchildren aged 3 and 5. Have a…
The Thursday night PB local elections special
Harwich West on Tendring (Lab Defence) Last Local Election (2011): Con 33, Ind 16, Lab 9, Lib Dem 2 (Conservative majority of 6) Name of party 2011 Vote % Share Labour 1,240 42% Conservatives 1,218 41% Community Representatives 318 11% Independents 177 6% Tendring has had a very interesting electoral history. In 2003 it was one of six councils in Essex that were not outright controlled by a party (the other seven were Conservative controlled in six and Lib Dem…
YouGov poll has CON and LAB level pegging with Boris as leader
The YouGov detail that shows the Tories level-pegging if Boris was leader twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st… — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 28, 2013
For first time since Osbo’s March 2012 budget more people say they want a CON majority than a LAB one
But 41% want LAB in next government to 35% saying CON More people tell YouGov that their preferred #GE2015 outcome is a CON majority than a LAB one -a crossover twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st… — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 28, 2013 YouGov’s preferred GE2015 outcome findings – the 12 month record Today’s YouGov finding that more would prefer a CON majority than a LAB one is first time in more than a year twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st… — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 28, 2013 And Ed…
David Miliband’s departure leaves Blairites leaderless
Henry G Manson on the significance of today’s announcement It’s been said that New Labour was more of sect than a movement. Now shorn of a leader the moderate faction has no-one else to turn to. David Miliband’s defeat in the 2010 leadership election showed that New Labor could not easily endure beyond Blair. Instead David Miliband allowed himself to be presented as a continuity candidate when many in the movement and country wanted more of a change and break…