On an amazing morning my choice for the biggest story…

On an amazing morning my choice for the biggest story…

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What’ll be the impact of Labour’s Libyan links? We are spoilt for choice this Sunday morning with an amazing array of dramatic political stories including the Alastair Darling revelations in the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph splashing plans to disband the Conservative party in Scotland. But the biggest must surely be the Mail on Sunday’s revelations of what is contained in a stash of documents and letters found in the British Ambassador’s residence in Tripoli. Read it here. The…

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The PB Nighthawks Cafe – the open thread…

The PB Nighthawks Cafe – the open thread…

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I guess the big story overnight will be the Alastain Darling memoirs – parts of which have been leaked. Also, like every night, this is an open thread for PBers to talk about what they want. There are now prints available of Marf’s spoof of the Edward Hopper classic Nighthawks Café. This is a limited edition, signed by Marf in full colour for £60. If you are interested contact her here. @MikeSmithsonPB

Without Scotland can Labour ever win again?

Without Scotland can Labour ever win again?

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BBC news As I reported last night I had an accident yesterday and am just recovering quietly at home – so there’ll be limited posting from me for the next day or so. The big polling news in the past 24 hours has been the Ipsos-MORI survey of Scotland which shows a big swing to the SNP, These are the figures:- Westminster voting intention (May 2010 election) SNP 42% (+22%) Lab 33% (-9%) Con 15% (-2%) LD 6% (-13%) Other…

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Is Cameron heading for a defence cuts revolt?

Is Cameron heading for a defence cuts revolt?

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Does the Libyan operation change the terms of debate? Making cuts is always difficult for a government: voters lose out. When cuts are targeted, some groups suffer substantially in relative terms; when they are more or less across the board, everyone ends up with less, or at least less than they thought they’d have. The only real antidote to that difficulty is winning the argument that the cuts are both fair and necessary. Getting that right is hard at the…

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Into the weekend in the PB Nighthawks Cafe…

Into the weekend in the PB Nighthawks Cafe…

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Alas I won’t be joining you. I’ve spent most of the day in hospital after an accident in the garden which left me with a nasty head wound. Just to say that the ambulance service was great and so were the A & E staff. At one stage they were going to keep me in but thankfully that wasn’t required. I hate hospitals. What is great when you are sitting around for extended periods is being able to follow the…

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Could Rick Perry be the 2012 Howard Dean?

Could Rick Perry be the 2012 Howard Dean?

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Will his campaign for the nomination end in the same way? The Texas governor, Rick Perry, has become an even firmer favourite Betfair to take the nomination for the Republican party for next year’s White House race. His price seems to be getting tighter and it could be that in the next month or so that he touches evens. Certainly there appears to be very little money behind any of the other contenders. The fact that he seems to appeal…

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Henry G Manson asks: Time to Fell the Tree?

Henry G Manson asks: Time to Fell the Tree?

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Are the Conservatives Becoming Enemies of Conservation? The adoption of the tree by the Conservative Party five years ago appeared to signify more than an image re-spray. It built on an important historical strand of conservation running through the Conservative Party which understands in a world of chaotic change, continuity and conservation is increasingly important and reassuring. Tim Montgomorie described this sentiment earlier this year. ‘For us the preservation of the natural environment and good stewardship of the planet’s resources…

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Can Obama be beaten?

Can Obama be beaten?

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Betfair Politics Could Obama be beaten? The chart shows the trend in the Betfair “winning party” market in the 2012 White House race. As can be seen sentiment has been moving to the Republican party although this has slightly eased over the past few days. – something that’s been driven by the polls showing a weakening in Obama’s position. His approval ratings, the key measure used in the US, have seen a steady erosion in recent months. It could be…

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