How’s the government comparing with its predecessors?

How’s the government comparing with its predecessors?

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Ipsos-MORI The 32 year view from Mrs Thatcher onwards This is a chart that Ipsos-MORI produces on most months in order to put current government approval ratings figures in an historical context. It shows how the satisfied-dissatisfied numbers moved month by month in the first year after a general election. So at this stage, the chart is based on February’s polling, the coalition is doing substantially better than John Major’s 1992 government and a touch better compared with nine months…

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YouGov Wales: An example of the “Mirror Magnifier”?

YouGov Wales: An example of the “Mirror Magnifier”?

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How 6.9% of the sample was worth 21%? Last Wednesday YouGov reported that Labour were on 48% for the Welsh Assembly elections on May 5th and were possibly heading for an overall majority They might well be but ftom the initial detail that the pollster released I was uncomfortable by the heavy weighting uplift that Labour had in the poll and the sizeable down-scale of the Tory vote. Now with the availability today of the full weightings data we can…

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Why was Dave so unprepared on the NHS?

Why was Dave so unprepared on the NHS?

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A victory for EdM this week As predicted here last night Ed Miliband used his PMQ opportunity this week to open the potential split within the coalition on the NHS changes and put Cameron on the spot over what’s being proposed. The PM’s lack of response to Miliband’s point about the NHS being opened up to EU competition law was very telling. It appeared that he was not up to speed on what’s in the government’s bill. The danger for…

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Votes for Prisoners – will the Supreme Court let Dave off the hook?

Votes for Prisoners – will the Supreme Court let Dave off the hook?

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Sean Fear investigates The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that this country’s blanket ban on prisoners voting is unlawful has handed Cameron’s political opponents a handy stick with which to beat him. The Commons has made it absolutely plain that this ruling is anathema, yet at the same time, Kenneth Clarke, and the Liberal Democrats, are adamant that the ruling must be complied with. Right wing newspapers are arguing that Britain should withdraw from the European…

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Will Dave do to Lansley what he did to Spelman?

Will Dave do to Lansley what he did to Spelman?

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What’s he going to say to Ed about the NHS reforms? You don’t have to be much of a political pundit to work out that the main domestic focus of Ed Miliband’s questions at PMQs tomorrow will be on the government’s troubled plans for the NHS. For not only will he have a raft of material from Saturday’s debate at the Lib Dem conference to refer to there’s also today’s decision by the BMA calling for the withdrawal of the…

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Will Dave get the blame if AV is passed?

Will Dave get the blame if AV is passed?

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Did the blues make the wrong call last May? On the previous thread Laptop posed the question of whether, in the light of what’s happened over the past ten months, the Tories would have been better going for a “supply & confidence” arrangement with the Lib Dems rather than full coalition? Certainly looking at the way the polls and and Barnsley have gone things look bleak for the yellows as they face the May 5th English locals and the devolved…

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Meanwhile..in the Daily Express…

Meanwhile..in the Daily Express…

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…the “Crusade” to get out of Europe goes on According to the paper:- “.VOTERS were last night signing up in their thousands to a campaign warning MPs to back a poll on EU membership or face losing their seats Supporters are being asked to sign a pledge not to vote for any MP who fails to back a national “in or out” referendum..Organisers of the cross-party “People’s Pledge” initiative said yesterday that they were astonished at the massive surge of…

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Can the oldies bring a smile to the NO campaigners’ faces?

Can the oldies bring a smile to the NO campaigners’ faces?

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Is the grey vote going to win it for NO? Although we’ve been getting conflicting messages on the AV referendum there’s one big trend that’s seen in all the surveys where the actual question that’s on the ballot will be put – the older you are the least likely it is that you want change. I’ve just extracted the split, repercentaged to show just decided voters, of the oldest age group from all the latest polls. Normally you shouldn’t read…

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