Will it be the council cuts that hurt the coalition most?

Will it be the council cuts that hurt the coalition most?

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HenryG looks at where the political battle-grounds will be Over the years I’ve noticed that one of the biggest misconceptions the public have is that their council services are funded almost entirely by the council tax they pay. In good times this isn’t so much of a problem, but it will be the cause of a major headache for the coalition too. The realisation that government spending cuts at Westmininster will hit their council’s services is starting to emerge as…

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Nick Clegg – “Politician of the Year”

Nick Clegg – “Politician of the Year”

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What do we think of the Spectator’s line-up of awards? We’re coming to that point in the calendar when we also start to look back over the year that was and the first set-piece event took place last night – The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year awards 2010. This was the line-up after an extraordinary and eventful year that simply did not go to plan. Who could have predicted these names on January 1st? Newcomer of the Year: Caroline Lucas…

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Reminder: Dirty Dicks, TONIGHT, 6.30pm

Reminder: Dirty Dicks, TONIGHT, 6.30pm

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Hope you can make the next PB gathering Thanks to Fat Steve for once again organising this. We are having an informal get-together tonight at the historic Dirty Dicks pub opposite the main entrance to Liverpool Street station. Kick off is at 6.30pm and I am on the train bound for London. Details of the venue and how to find it can be found here. Mike Smithson

Labour take three point lead with Ipsos-MORI

Labour take three point lead with Ipsos-MORI

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Poll/Publication Date CON % LAB % LD % Ipsos-MORI/Reuters 14/11/10 36 39 14 Ipsos-MORI/Reuters 17/10/10 39 36 14 Ipsos-MORI/Reuters 12/09/10 37 37 15 Ipsos-MORI/Reuters 25/07/10 40 38 14 Ipsos-MORI/Reuters 20/06/10 39 31 19 The red team at its highest level since October 2007 The first non-YouGov poll of November, from Ipsos-MORI, is just out and is in line with the trend from YouGov in showing a movement to Labour. The share of 39% is the highest from the firm since…

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Should it be okay to label your opponent as a “Paedophile”?

Should it be okay to label your opponent as a “Paedophile”?

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Miranda Grell – disqualified by the Woolas law in 2007 One of the things that has been said repeatedly about the Woolas case is that it is only the second instance in 99 years of this law being used to try to over-turn an election for a Westminster constituency. True. But there is a much more recent case involving a council election. The woman standing next to David Miliband in the picture is Miranda Grell who won a seat in…

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Labour take 5 point lead with YouGov

Labour take 5 point lead with YouGov

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Poll/publication Date CON % LAB % LD % YouGov/Sun 16/11/10 37 42 10 YouGov/Sun 15/11/10 40 42 10 YouGov/Sunday Times 12/11/10 39 41 10 YouGov/Sun 11/11/10 40 40 10 YouGov/Sun 10/11/10 42 37 11 YouGov/Sun 09/11/10 40 39 13 YouGov/Sun 08/11/10 42 39 11 YouGov/Sunday Times 05/11/10 40 39 12 YouGov/Sun 04/11/10 40 39 11 YouGov/Sun 03/11/10 40 40 9 YouGov/Sun 02/11/10 41 40 11 YouGov/Sun 01/11/10 41 39 11 YouGov/Sunday Times 29/10/10 42 37 13 YouGov/Sun 28/10/10 41 39…

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Royal Weddings: Harry Hayfield looks at the polling

Royal Weddings: Harry Hayfield looks at the polling

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Which party will benefit most? So the cat is out of the bag as Prince William announces he is to marry Kate Middleton sometime in the spring or summer of next year, but what impact does a Royal Wedding have on the politics of the nation? Since regular polling started in 1946 there have been eight royal weddings (which I class as where members of the Royal Family as defined by Buckingham Palace have married in either a civil, religious…

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Could the Irish crisis lead to the end of the Euro?

Could the Irish crisis lead to the end of the Euro?

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BBC news Wow. What a big news day with the Royal Engagement, the announcement that Cameron’s “vanity staff” are going off the public pay-roll and, of course, the Irish/Euro crisis. Will it be the latter that has the most lasting significance? How serious are the problems facing Ireland and what will be the impact in the UK? With the full-time president of the EU talking about the threat to the overall structure and talk of of a new credit crunch…

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