Welcome again to the PB Nighthawks Cafe…

Welcome again to the PB Nighthawks Cafe…

Will Chris Huhne survive for another 2 hours? The big betting issue for political punters tonight is whether Chris Huhne will still be in the cabinet at midnight. My guess is that he is and those of us who took the evens bet four months ago are going to end up with a nice profit. This story seems to have gone on so long and whatever your view of Huhne, and I’m a fan, you’ve got to admire the sheer…

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Can Nick Sparrow make Populus the top pollster?

Can Nick Sparrow make Populus the top pollster?

Will we see more innovation? The big news in the world of polling is that the founder of ICM and occasional PB guest slot-writer, Nick Sparrow, is joining Populus as a special adviser. He will provide guidance on issues including business growth and methodological innovation. Nick launched ICM in 1989 and was at the helm when it was sold to Creston in 2006. He left the firm in 2009 and since then there’s been a lot of speculation over what…

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The Nick Clegg YouTube – the full quote

The Nick Clegg YouTube – the full quote

Is Labour making mischief? It has been brought to my attention that the Nick Clegg YouTube extract on the previous thread takes on a very different meaning when the full quote is included. This is what he said in the speech in March 2008:-

Can Labour ever form a Coalition with Clegg’s Lib Dems?

Can Labour ever form a Coalition with Clegg’s Lib Dems?

Henry G Manson on what happens with another hung parliament I’m reasonably confident Labour is currently heading for hung parliament territory. Without a significant burst of support Ed Miliband’s Labour seems likely to struggle to achieve an outright majority – particularly given the boundary changes. If Labour were to become the largest party (and by no means is this a given) then it begs the question how would/could Labour work with the Liberal Democrats? The Labour Party has in many…

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The PB Nighthawks Cafe and news of the Brum gathering

The PB Nighthawks Cafe and news of the Brum gathering

I’ve been quite overwhelmed with the number of responses from PBers, both posters and lurkers, who’ve emailed to say they’s like to join an informal get together in Birmingham on Monday evening. A lot of them, but by no means all, are attending the Lib Dem conference in the city and I’ve asked PB’s leading Brummie, racing tipster and Christmas cross-word compiler, StJohn, to advise on where to go. I’ll post here when we’ve got something firm. This all started…

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Leader ratings: How Ed Miliband compares?

Leader ratings: How Ed Miliband compares?

Can a LOTO with low ratings ever win? Today, as reported on the previous thread, we’ve had the Ipsos-MORI September political monitor for Reuters. The voting intention figures were CON 35 (+1): LAB 37 (-3): LD 13 (-2) showing the changes from August. The poll also includes MORI leader satisfaction ratings which have been asked in the same form for nearly a third of a century. The firm’s question format “How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way ……

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Hurry! Get your money on a 2015 election at evens or better

Hurry! Get your money on a 2015 election at evens or better

May 7th 2015 must now be pretty certain Last night the coalition five-year fixed-term Parliaments Bill completed its final stages in the House of Lords after peers dropped an attempt to include a provision under which would mean it would have to be renewed after every election. A compromise was reached under which a committee will be set up to look at the workings of fixed-term Parliaments in 2020. For gamblers this means that the next general election is now…

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Wedesday’s PB Nighthawks Cafe

Wedesday’s PB Nighthawks Cafe

Will any PBers be in Birmingham on Monday evening? Next week I’m planning to spend a couple of days at the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham and I wondered if there were an PBers with easy access to the city who could make a very informal gathering on Monday evening. This is NOT just for conference attendees. Nick Palmer’s going to be there and we were thinking of having a curry. Are there others who would like to join us…

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