Will the YES voters be more likely to hold on? With just two days to go before the big vote on student fees the Lib Dem parliamentary party has been meeting to hear their leader, the deputy prime minister and “Parliamentarian of the Year”, Nick Clegg. He told them it would be “better to walk through the fire together” to support the policy and confirmed that he would personally vote for the proposals. This is a big decision for each…
Hat-tip to Iain Dale for picking up this one – a row last night between the government chief whip, Patrick McLoughlin, and the speaker, John Bercow. It arose over Tory concerns about Bercow being what they thought was over-helpful to a Labour whip on a procedural matter. McLoughlin made an inaudible comment to Bercow who responded in a manner that I cannot recall ever happening before. It strikes me that the hostility is moving into very dangerous territory for both…
It’s 6/4 that they won’t Several traditional bookmakers have been running markets on which of the three party leaders will be first to leave their post and I’ve yet to tempted by any of them. The markets are open-ended and it could be years before you get a return. The new betting exchange, Smarkets, has a slightly different structure in that there’s an option on Cameron/Clegg/Miliband all still being in their jobs at the time of the next general election….
David Cameron David Cameron “doing well/badly†(YouGov) All (last week) CON voters LAB voters LD voters Well 49 (+2) 95 13 78 Badly 44 (-1) 4 84 18 Ed Miliband Ed Miliband “doing well/badly†(YouGov) All (last week) CON voters LAB voters LD voters Well 30 (+2) 17 63 26 Badly 44 (+7) 62 20 42 Nick Clegg Nick Clegg “doing well/badly†(YouGov) All (last week) CON voters LAB voters LD voters Well 33 (+1) 67 7 76 Badly 56…
After this morning’s appalling error on the Today programme when cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt’s name was described with a “C” at the start of his surnane rather than an “H” there’s another incident that’s going to cause deep embarrassment. As the Tweet above explains an interview with a Lib Dem PPS who was said to be considering resigning over tuition fees was actually with an impostor. The Corporation, it would appear, was conned. Somebody needs to get a grip. Mike…
I’m tied up for most of the day and won’t be in a position to publish a new piece until late afternoon. Today we could get news of the Old & Sad by election date and, of course, I am sure that everybody has heard this Today programme classic from this morning. Mike Smithson
Is abstention the option for wusses? Just four days to go before the big commons vote on fees and what could potentially be a career-ending decision for each of the 57 MPs who were elected for the Lib Dems last May. What would you do in their position – there are just three options: You vote for the tripling of the maximum fee and risk being accused of breaking your promises and alienating a significant part of your electorate who…
A tale of two elections At first glance, the 2010 and 2001 general elections couldn’t be more different. But look again and you can see a curious coincidence that may have a bearing on the future. In 2001, Labour won a landslide and was secure in power for more than 5 years. Turnout was low, largely because the result was widely expected. The 2010 election was close, turnout rose. We ended up with a balanced hung parliament, which created the…