Why’s Dave’s “contract” being honoured but not Nick’s pledge?

Why’s Dave’s “contract” being honoured but not Nick’s pledge?

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Could the differing treatment be what undermines the pact? In the run up to polling day on May 6th the Tories sent out a mailer to selected voters in key marginal seats headed “A contract between the Conservative Party and You”. It was designed to ease voters’ concerns about certain key areas of spending that the red team said were being cut. Most of the items listed were directed at pensioners – keeping free bus basses, the winter fuel allowance,…

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Should Labour risk a local OES candidate or not??

Should Labour risk a local OES candidate or not??

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What would being a by-election loser do to her career? One person who is being strongly tipped to be Labour’s candidate in Oldham East and Saddleworth is 36 year old Lucy Powell of whom great things were being said before the May 6th general election. She’s not a local but from South Manchester and was candidate in Manchester Withington – a seat which Labour felt pretty confident of taking back after the shock loss to the Lib Dems in 2005….

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What if it’s a joyless recovery?

What if it’s a joyless recovery?

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What will the impact of the next economic storms be? The coming and going of the G20 this week without any meaningful progress on currencies, trade imbalances or indeed anything much else is hardly a surprise. The immediate global crises of the credit crunch and recession are over and there are too many conflicting interests to get a serious deal done in a couple of days, even with preparation beforehand. That’s a missed opportunity because this week’s seen some strong…

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If you’ve got an hour then you must listen to this

If you’ve got an hour then you must listen to this

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Does this add to our understanding of today? I’ve just finished listening to Matthew Solon’s radio play which seeks to tell the story of the five days after the general election which led to the formation of the coalition. It’s based on interviews with those who were directly involved and on published material with actors playing the key characters. I think it works brilliantly and what we hear is a compelling account of what went on. It certainly added to…

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Is Herr Bergfeld a gift for Nick Clegg?

Is Herr Bergfeld a gift for Nick Clegg?

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How serious should his bravado be taken? London’s Evening Standard is running a story tonight quoting one of Wednesday’s march organisers and a member of the National Executive of the NUS which could be seen as almost amounting to a call to revolution. He’s called for schools to be barricaded, more “occupations” and a general strike to “break” the Lib-Con coalition Bergfield is quoted as saying: “He said: “The ConDems are the real vandals so force is legitimate to bring…

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What if there was an unexpected vacancy…?

What if there was an unexpected vacancy…?

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What would happen in each of the parties? For the last hour or so I’ve been lying awake pondering what would happen if there was an unexpected vacancy in each of the three parties. Who would take over and what would be the consequences? The easiest, I think, would be with Labour. If Ed Miliband was suddenly unable to continue in the job then there would only be three realistic choices – Harriet Harman (20/1), David Miliband (5/1) or Yvette…

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The welfare cuts continue to get strong public backing

The welfare cuts continue to get strong public backing

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Making the long term unemployed spend 4 weeks doing unpaid work All voters CON voters LAB voters LD voters Support 73 92 58 83 Oppose 17 3 31 14 Don’t know 10 5 10 3 Withdrawing Jobseekers Allowance from those who turn down a job offer or interview All voters CON voters LAB voters LD voters Support 66 82 57 71 Oppose 21 8 33 22 Don’t know 12 9 10 6 More stringent testing for people receiving Disability Living…

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Are you celebrating the coalition’s 6 month anniversary?

Are you celebrating the coalition’s 6 month anniversary?

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Will there be let up in the pace of change? It was May 11th 2010, my 64th birthday in fact, that the coalition was formed and David Cameron replaced Gordon Brown at Number 10. So today we reach the six month mark and what a half year that has been. Whether you agree with what’s been proposed or not you cannot deny that the pace of change has been breath-taking. I cannot in my life-time remember such a period of…

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