Michael Fallon is the man to calm Tory nerves?

Michael Fallon is the man to calm Tory nerves?

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He should take over from Baroness Warsi in the re-shuffle? All the reports about Cameron’s coming re-shuffle suggest that there’ll be very little change at cabinet level with most of the changes being in the lower ranks of ministers. One widely forecast move is for Baroness Warsi to be replaced as party chairman. Two figures are being talked about – Grant Shapps, the 43 year old housing minister, and Michael Fallon, the 60 year old current vice-chairman. Both are effective…

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The Wiggins price eases in the SPOTY betting

The Wiggins price eases in the SPOTY betting

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Best odds shown as %age from Bestbetting But he’s still odds on favourite A factor in this market is how previous elections have worked out. Two of the last four Sports Personalities of the Year have been cyclists and it’s likely that this could happen again. The cycling lobby has been very effective in mobilising the vote and in December the athletics interest is likely to be split between Ennis and Farah. Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB

Why do Governments always seem to lose popularity?

Why do Governments always seem to lose popularity?

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A guest slot by Nick Palmer During the last Government, Mike used to point out that governing parties in Britain nearly always decline in popularity after the initial honeymoon, so the writing was on the wall for Labour after 2005. On the Labour side we didn’t like to admit it, but we knew he was right. With rare exceptions (1983 after the Falklands is the glaring one), governments are on the slide within a few years and never really recover….

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Will Tory rebels oppose ANYTHING that Dave offers the LDs?

Will Tory rebels oppose ANYTHING that Dave offers the LDs?

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Is the struggle to retain the 20 seat boundary bonus doomed? It’s being reported by the Telegraph’s Ben Brogan that Cameron is working on a plan to offer the LDs a deal on state funding party funding as a new quid pro quo for getting the boundary changes through. Brogan writes: “…over the next year or so Mr Clegg will find a way to back the boundary review when it comes up for a vote in the Commons. In exchange,…

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What could a LAB win in Corby do to the political arithmetic?

What could a LAB win in Corby do to the political arithmetic?

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BBC A “rainbow coalition” would be less reliant on the SNP One of the key drivers behind the 2010 coalition was that a CON-LD pact was the only one that appeared feasible given the election outcome. All the talk of a “rainbow alliance” required bringing together all the non-Tory MPs and it was hard to see how that could be managed. Any one of the assorted parties could wield enormous power if it came to a confidence vote. The impact…

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Will Britain now be viewed differently in the world?

Will Britain now be viewed differently in the world?

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Is that going to be the global legacy? There’s a great verdict on London 2012 in today’s Sydney Morning Herald – one of the leading newspapers in Australia. This is the country, of course, which has been the butt of many jokes in the past forthnight. Greg Baum writes: “London, you didn’t half do a decent job. These Olympics had Sydney’s vibrancy, Athens’s panache, Beijing’s efficiency, and added British know-how and drollery. With apologies to Sydney, they might just represent…

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