Both coalition partners fall back There’s bad news for the coalition in the first ICM poll since Wednesday’s budget. A survey for the Sunday Telegraph has shares CON 37%(-2), LAB 38% (+2), LD 13%(-2). The comparion is with the firm’s Guardian poll carried out last weekend. The latest Yougov daily poll has a LAB lead of 7%. There’s little doubt that the government has taken a media hammering since Osborne’s speech and it was always going to be hard winning…
Was this a reason for the grannytax cock-up? The ConHome editor, Tim Montgomerie, paints an extraordinary picture of the many roles that George Osborne has in this government in a opinion piece in today’s Times. He writes:- “11 Downing Street is now the headquarters of government in a way that Gordon Brown could only dream of when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. Where Mr Brown sought more power by relentlessly undermining Tony Blair, Mr Osborne has accumulated power by…
Is the planned rise asking for trouble? The PR has unravelled on Osborne’s Budget for much the same reason as it unravelled frequently on those of Gordon Brown: hiding bad news means your opponents get first shot at making the argument on the issue and that then sets the terms of debate. Had he been upfront about the freezing of pensioner tax allowances and set it in the context of the already generous amounts and the freebies and perks that…
Do governments interfere with our pleasures at their peril? If you would like to purchase one of Marf’s prints, please contact her at marfcartoons@btinternet.com
Betfair Politics Is he still a worthy favourite? George Osborne remains the favourite to be Cameron’s replacement but I just wonder how much damage this will do to his leadership ambitions? Today’s rushed commons statement by the home secretary on alcohol pricing, something that almost never happens on Fridays, is an indication of how much trouble the government spin machine thing they are in. Clearly the hope is that the narrative will move on. But just looking at the front…
Antifrank on why prospective 2015 losses are being overstated 1. The Lib Dems won’t fight a national general election The Lib Dems, unlike the Conservatives and Labour, will not seriously be trying to win a general election. They will be trying to hold their current seats (or if polling improves, get a few extra). They’re going to be fighting seriously in 100 or so seats. On current polling, that number may halve. Seats which get disproportionate effort are going to…
Ipsos-MORI Should George have blocked the coming duty increase? Forget the granny tax and the 45p tax rate is the biggest threat to the coalition popularity at the moment the increasing cost of petrol and diesel. The MORI issues index for March is just out and shows a sharp rising in the proportion sample raising the price of a litre. As the chart shows it’s up by more than double to 13% in this monthly face-to-face survey where, uniquely, interviewees…
What’ll it do to Dave/George’s majority goal? In a recent Indy column Mary Ann Sieghart reported on how Tory head of strategy, Andrew Cooper, is saying that about 10 per cent of voters agree with Cameron on the deficit, think Dave is a strong and fair PM, but don’t like his party and aren’t inclined to vote for it. Sieghart went on: “..These voters still see the Tories as callous, out of touch, the party of the rich, and obsessed…