When are the lax postal vote rules going to be sorted?

When are the lax postal vote rules going to be sorted?

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Did Labour’s changes make cheating much easier? There’s a piece in my local Sunday paper today which makes my blood boil – a batch of 100 votes going missing in a council ward where about a third electors have applied to vote in this way. I’m sure this story is being repeated in many places:- “..A conservative council election candidate has claimed more than 100 postal votes, destined for homes in two streets just yards away from a polling station,…

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YouGov has the NO2AV lead down by eight points

YouGov has the NO2AV lead down by eight points

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And the firm has Scotland tightening as well The Sunday before the May 5th elections and from the information that’s available as I write YouGov has YES closing the gap from 18 points last Tuesday to 10 points overnight in its Sunday Times poll. The firm has a split of 55-45 amongst decided voters. I wonder whether the heightened anti-Tory rhetoric from some Lib Dems is taking a bit of the pressure off Nick Clegg who has been the main…

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Where does the coalition go after Thursday?

Where does the coalition go after Thursday?

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Is this the big story of the night? The full story by the Observer’s Toby Helm can be found here. He writes: “…..In a joint article in the Observer, signed by Labour’s shadow business secretary, John Denham, and the leader of the Green party, Caroline Lucas, Huhne and the others argue that the Conservatives were able to monopolise power for much of the 20th century because of an “unfair” first-past-the-post system. “Britain consistently votes as a centre-left country, and yet…

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Any regrets about your Willliam Hill/PB AV prediction?

Any regrets about your Willliam Hill/PB AV prediction?

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Who’s going to be the winner of our biggest prize? In early February the bookmakers, William Hills agreed to provide a competition prize of £1,000 of free bets to the PBer who makes the closest prediction to the AV referendum result. All you had to do was record what you thought the YES percentage would be to within two decimal points. The prize will got to the one who gets closest to the figure reported on the BBC website after…

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What drew in the millions beyond the seas?

What drew in the millions beyond the seas?

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Do the royals enable Britain to still punch above its weight? When Bruno Mars sang in ‘Billionaire’ that he wanted to “be on the cover of Forbes magazine / smiling next to Oprah and the Queen”, there could be little doubt that of all the world’s queens regnant or consort his definite article applied to Her Britannic Majesty. Yesterday’s wedding provided proof once again of the enduring ability that British royalty has to engage not just the country but large…

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Is this why politicians should be very careful with Twitter?

Is this why politicians should be very careful with Twitter?

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Was this a wise point for Hain to raise today? Twitter can become a very dangerous facility as Peter Hain is no doubt reflecting this lunchtime. His Tweet, featured above, clearly reflects his feelings about the wedding coverage but wouldn’t it have been better if he had just kept this to himself for today at least? The problem with Twitter is that it’s so easy to publish. Sometimes it can take only seconds. Now Hain’s Tweet is going to get…

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What are the best bets for the Royal Wedding?

What are the best bets for the Royal Wedding?

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Is there money to be made from the big day? Novelty bets are rarely worth looking at. Frequently there are huge overrounds in markets more designed for publicity than serious punting. Still, unlike more mainstream markets, there can be large disparities between the different bookies, so where’s the best value for today? The first market to be settled should be that of their title. The sons of the monarch or heir apparant usually receive a dukedom when they marry (which…

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