How well has the government picked its key 2011 battle?

How well has the government picked its key 2011 battle?

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Are the Hutton pensions reforms the right place to fight? The reforms to the public-sector pensions that John Hutton, the former Labour Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, proposed in his report for the government earlier this week have understandably dropped out of the news. They will, however, be back. Even without the need to reduce the deficit, public-sector pensions were becoming more and more expensive, given rising life expectancy. Hutton has given the government all the political cover…

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What’ll Japan do to Britain’s nuclear power strategy?

What’ll Japan do to Britain’s nuclear power strategy?

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BBC news Could the leak slow down the planned expansion? Perhaps the biggest domestic victim of today’s appalling events in Japan could be the plan to expand nuclear power. In recent years there has been a shift in favour of nuclear again because of it being a source of power without the CO2 implications. The main argument against has always been safety – something that might be magnified following the radiation leak in Japan. The fact that this happened in…

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What’s this news going to do to Lib Dem conference coverage?

What’s this news going to do to Lib Dem conference coverage?

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Could some yellows be a bit relieved? There was a time when the Lib Dems looked to their spring conference as a platform that, hopefully would lead to some media coverage in the run-up to the May local elections. This year things look set to be different with the narrative framed by the challenges of being in coalition and their 6th place in the Barnsley by-election. But could all that be much reduced by this morning’s terrible news from Japan?…

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Could the coalition soon be losing the blame game?

Could the coalition soon be losing the blame game?

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Which is most to blame for the cuts? (YouGov) CON-LD coalition % Last Labour government % Both % Neither % Don’t know % 07 March 2011 27 40 22 6 5 21 February 2011 25 41 24 5 5 07 February 2011 25 38 26 6 5 25 January 2011 26 40 24 5 6 10 January 2011 22 40 25 8 5 11 December 2010 23 41 24 7 5 15 November 2010 22 43 23 7 5 07…

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Should Labour expel Hutton for his public sector pensions study?

Should Labour expel Hutton for his public sector pensions study?

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How far should ex-ministers go in helping the coalition? With the big domestic political story being the publication of the public sector pensions review there are calls by left of centre bloggers that the man who carried out the study, ex-cabinet minster John Hutton, to be expelled from the Labour party. On the Liberal Conspiracy site Owen Jones links Hutton’s cooperation to that of his fellow ex-minster Alan Milburn:- “..both Hutton and Milburn were appointed not for their expertise, but…

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Could Labour be heading for an overall majority in Wales?

Could Labour be heading for an overall majority in Wales?

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Welsh Assembly election poll (YouGov/ITV) Result 2007 Jan 2011 Mar 2011 Constituency vote       Labour 32% 45% 48% Conservative 22% 21% 20% Plaid Cymru 22% 21% 19% Liberal Democrat 15% 7% 7% Others 8% 6% 7% Regional vote       Labour 30% 41% 45% Conservative 22% 20% 20% Plaid Cymru 21% 21% 18% Liberal Democrat 12% 8% 5% UKIP 4% 4% 5% Green 4% 2% 4% Others 8% 4% 2% There’s a new YouGov poll out for…

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AV referendum betting: The money moves to NO

AV referendum betting: The money moves to NO

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AV betting – March 10 2011 Latest prices YES price NO price Ladbrokes evens 8/11 William Hill 5/6 5/6 Bet365 evens 8/11 PaddyPower 4/5 10/11 Victor Chandler evens 8/11 Betfair 11/10 4/5 Smarkets 11/10 0.83/1 YouGov’s 17% lead sparks off a mini-spurt Tuesday’s poll from YouGov showing a 17 point lead for NO has caused the first real shift in AV referendum betting since the markets were set up. Until then the traditional bookies had both sides at about 5/6…

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Are elected mayors becoming more important than MPs?

Are elected mayors becoming more important than MPs?

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BBC news Will these be the big English battles on May 5th One development that hasn’t been given much attention is the decision by Sir Peter Soulsby to resign his seat of Leicester South following his selection as Labour candidate in May’s first election for the Mayor of Leicester. What focus there has been on this has been on the parliamentary by-election – but isn’t his decision to abandon Westminster more interesting? For these elected mayor positions, which only exist…

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