What will the “Turnip Taleban” say about Liz Truss now?

What will the “Turnip Taleban” say about Liz Truss now?

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New Statesman Did they nearly stop Mrs Thatcher Mark 2? Liz Truss, the 38 year old ex-President of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats turned Tory MP, first came to national prominence six months before the general election when what became dubbed as the “Turnip Taleban” sought to de-select her in her SW Norfolk constituency. A leader of this faction was quoted at the time as saying: “Sorry, no, I have never said I’m anti-women. I have got absolutely nothing against…

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Who do we want to be our MP and how are we going to get them?

Who do we want to be our MP and how are we going to get them?

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Henry G Manson’s weekly column It struck me as odd the other day. A few weeks back Labour said it needed to attract more working class parliamentary candidates. This is a worthwhile aim given the professionalisation of British politics and even more so for a party set-up by organised labour. It was something of an embarrassment when an aspiring parliamentary candidate in solid working class strongholds has a £5000 personalised number plate. We need to move away from that. So…

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YouGov poll boost for Condi and my 40-1 VP bet

YouGov poll boost for Condi and my 40-1 VP bet

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VP possible Most qualified Least qualified Favourable Unfavourable Rob Portman 3% 5% 17% 19% Tim Pawlenty 5% 6% 25% 28% Bobby Jindal 5% 5% 25% 29% Paul Ryan 6% 9% 28% 29% Condoleezza Rice 31% 6% 53% 31% Marco Rubio 6% 9% 29% 28% Economist/YouGov poll How much will her good numbers influence Romney? With Mitt Romney due to announce his choice as running mate within the next month the question of who it will be has become just about…

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Have we ever had such a poor view of all our leaders?

Have we ever had such a poor view of all our leaders?

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Ipsos-MORI July 2012 Political Monitor Aggregate satisfaction for all 3 drops below 100 Above is another of the MORI charts deriving from this month’s political monitor. As can be seen none of the three party leaders can take any satisfaction from the latest numbers. There have not been many periods since MORI began polling in the 1970’s when the picture has looked so bleak for all three party leaders. Generally if one or two leaders are doing badly then the…

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Was the rhetoric for the coalition over-blown in the first place?

Was the rhetoric for the coalition over-blown in the first place?

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Ipsos-MORI Did Dave/Nick set expectations that were too high? We got the Ipsos-MORI numbers yesterday but this chart from the firm is worth looking at for the way it illustrates the trend. On every measure voters have become disillusioned with the coalition and I wonder if part of the problem was that there were so much hope for it on its creation. Looking back the deal in May 2010 was over-sold. There was too much big rhetoric for something that…

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Labour’s MORI lead up by 4

Labour’s MORI lead up by 4

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Labour up 4 in the July political monitor from MORI. It’s LAB 44 CON 31% — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 18, 2012 Lib Dems up 2% to 12% with MORI – a trend seen in all the recent phone polls — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 18, 2012 Today’s 13% lead for Labour from MORI is the biggest for the party since the election that never was in October 2007 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 18, 2012 Cameron’s net leader rating…

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