Could the government fall in Britain’s online betting paradise?

Could the government fall in Britain’s online betting paradise?

A guest slot from “PB’s Man on the Rock” In Gibraltar’s forthcoming general election, now only a month away, the Chief Minister Peter Caruana is hoping to be re-elected for a fifth consecutive term in office although, after being in power for the last 16 years, he has made it clear that, were he to be successful, this would be his last election. Under Caruana, Gibraltar has become something of an on-line Las Vegas in Europe. About 20 online betting…

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Ministerial resignations – A Punters’ Guide

Ministerial resignations – A Punters’ Guide

How to tell when they’ll stay and when they’ll go One of the best rules of thumb for political betting is that unpredictable events don’t happen as often as popular memory (mis)remembers – or put another way, the value is usually against a resignation, leadership challenge or other like happening. The flip side is that sometimes, like with Liam Fox’s resignation, they do. How best to identify the exceptions? Ministers generally resign either because they’ve done something wrong or because…

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Now into the weekend in the PB NightHawks Cafe

Now into the weekend in the PB NightHawks Cafe

My first day back after a long holiday. I always hate it as you try to adjust to “normal” life again. The big political story that will dominate the weekend is, of course. Monday’s vote in the commons on the EU referendum motion. It looks as though there’ll be a sizeable Tory rebellion which could easily be 55 or greater. Have a good evening. @MikeSmithsonPB

Henry G Manson’s first general election prediction

Henry G Manson’s first general election prediction

Dave can’t win women back with cuts I am now confident Labour will win more votes from women than the Conservatives at the next general election. This would normally be an absurdly bold claim this far out from an election and especially since the historical trends suggest women are more inclined to vote Conservative than men. I don’t put this confidence down to Cameron’s daft “calm down” quips or the relative lack of women in Cabinet. My guess is that…

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Will banging on about the EU win the blues any converts?

Will banging on about the EU win the blues any converts?

Or is it mostly current Tory voters who are concerned? The above chart is based on data from YouGov’s latest survey, taken on Tuesday this week, of the key issues when panel members are asked to tick three areas which concern them most. What’s shown above is the split amongst voters for the three main parties on a wide range of issues and the differences in priorities between the parties is quite marked. While concern about the economy is broadly…

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Can Dave stop the referendum AND keep the Tories united?

Can Dave stop the referendum AND keep the Tories united?

How does he get out of the vote conundrum? Just got back home after out two and half weeks in Andalusia and am trying to catch up with what’s been happening. The thing I don’t understand about the Commons EU referendum vote issue is how Cameron & Co got into this position in the first place. Surely they should have seen this coming a mile off and tried to take some deflective action? Whatever the vote is taking place and…

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Libya – the end game?

Libya – the end game?

BBC News Where does this leave Libya, the Arab Spring and UK politics? With unconfirmed reports that Gadaffi is captured, injured or even dead, the Libyan revolution looks to be almost complete. It still leaves the Middle-East in a state of flux though. Egypthas not had the promised elections, Syria remains in ferment, Bahrain unstable and other leaders will be watching warily. Domestically, Liam Fox may well be cursing his (largely self-inflicted) luck on the backbenchers that Gadaffi wasn’t found a week…

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Could Dave’s women problem boost Yvette’s chances?

Could Dave’s women problem boost Yvette’s chances?

Is now the moment for a female Labour leader? There are two big trends being featured in almost all of the polling: Firstly that Ed Miliband’s personal ratings remain dreadful and it’s hard to see how, given the importance of leaders in determining election outcomes, that his party could win with him at the helm. At the same time Cameron and the Tories continue to have problems appealing to women voters. In both the leader ratings and voter intention almost…

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