Is there now less need to suck up to newspaper bosses?

Is there now less need to suck up to newspaper bosses?

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Newspaper circulation figures December 2010 January 2000 Change +/- Daily Mirror 1,133,440 2,270,543 -50.08% Daily Star 713,602 502,647 41.97% The Sun 2,717,013 3,557,336 -23.62% Daily Express 623,689 979,042 -36.30% Daily Mail 2,030,968 2,353,915 -13.72% The Daily Telegraph 631,280 1,022,263 -38.25% Financial Times 390,121 435,478 -10.42% The Guardian 264,819 401,560 -34.05% The Independent 175,002 222,106 -21.21% The Times 448,463 726,349 -38.26% ***Total*** 9,128,397 12,471,239 –26.80% What are declining circulations doing to their political influence? On Andrew Neil’s “This Week” last Thursday…

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Harry Hayfield’s January council by election summary

Harry Hayfield’s January council by election summary

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January council by elections Votes Cast % Votes Cast Seats Won Change Conservatives 7297 44.05% 3 -2 Liberal Democrats 3774 22.78% 3 +1 Labour 3682 22.23% 2 +1 Green Party 739 4.46% 0 nc UKIP 546 3.30% 0 nc Independents 381 2.30% 0 nc BNP 52 0.31% 0 nc Others 93 0.56% 0 nc Are there any pointers to May’s big elections? And so starts a new year of local by-elections, and for the first time since July 2010, the…

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My 200-1 shot clears the way for a White House run

My 200-1 shot clears the way for a White House run

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PB Nov 14 2008 Is he the one to take on Palin – then Obama? In the week after Obama’s victory in November 2008 I placed a £50 bet at 200/1 with Ladbrokes against the then governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, winning the 2012 White House race. It seemed a long shot but during those difficult days for the Republicans after their defeat it appeared to me that there was one potential contender who had what it would take to…

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It’s almost no change in tonight’s ComRes telephone poll

It’s almost no change in tonight’s ComRes telephone poll

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Poll/publication Date CON % LAB % LD % ComRes/Independent (phone) 30/01/11 34 43 10 ComRes/IoS-S.Mirror(Online) 13/01/11 36 40 10 ComRes/Independent (phone) 09/01/11 34 42 12 ComRes/IoS-S.Mirror(Online) 17/12/10 37 39 11 ComRes/Independent (Phone) 29/11/10 36 40 12 ComRes/Indy on Sunday (Online) 19/11/10 37 38 13 ComRes/Independent (Phone) 31/10/10 35 37 16 ComRes/Indy on Sunday (Online) 15/10/10 40 34 14 ComRes/Independent (Online) 01/10/10 39 36 15 ComRes/Indy on Sunday (Online) 16/09/10 37 35 15 ComRes/Independent (Phone) 05/09/10 38 34 18 ComRes/Mirror/GMTV (Phone)…

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Is Kellner right – Labour should be polling better?

Is Kellner right – Labour should be polling better?

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Should the lead be 10 percent plus? The president of YouGov and well-known Labour supporter, Peter Kellner, has put the cat amongst the pigeons with an article this afternoon saying that his party should be doing substantially better in the polls. He points to the current 32% – 54% gap in YouGov’s government approve/disapprove numbers and suggests that current conditions are ones “in which the main opposition party should be miles ahead, not a measly five points. ” This is…

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AV referendum will fail, say the “PB 104”

AV referendum will fail, say the “PB 104”

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PB 2011 predictions now out The AV referendum is predicted to result in a “No” vote – that’s the main finding from the 2011 Politicalbetting Prediction Competition. 104 of the site’s sharpest pundits took part in PB’s annual crystal ball-gazing exercise, looking at everything from the state of the party leaders at Christmas and the opinion polls, to UK interest rates, the GOP race and the Irish election. Full details of the player-by-player predictions are

Will a referendum delay help YES or NO?

Will a referendum delay help YES or NO?

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What’s the consequence of not holding it on May 5th? In the next few days big decisions will have to be taken on the voting and constituencies bill which has been held up by the massive Labour filibuster in the Lords. Ministers have three choices: To try to force a guillotine on their lordships – an unprecedented step which might fail because cross-benchers are none too keen on the idea To accede to the Labour demand to de-couple the AV…

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Jonathan on Sunday on the week’s big political story

Jonathan on Sunday on the week’s big political story

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How did the main protagonists do The big political story of the week was the shock economic growth figures. The initial estimate for Q4 2010 was that the economy shrank by 0.5%. This was much worse than anyone expected. The political reaction was fascinating. Now that the dust has settled, how do we think the parties handled the surprise and what are the implications for the future? George Osborne blamed the weather. A political slight of hand designed to buy…

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