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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Has Tom Harris fallen victim to EdM’s new assertiveness?

Has Tom Harris fallen victim to EdM’s new assertiveness?

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Was it this ad that led to Tom stopping his blog? Just over two weeks ago I published the above spoof ad under the headline “Is discipline breaking down within Labour?” and posing the secondary question as to whether its creator, blogging Labour MP, Tom Harris, might be in trouble. Well EdM is about to return to work and what did we see on Tom’s site last night but an announcement that he’s giving up because in his words “blogging…

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Remember the last time YouGov was out of line..?

Remember the last time YouGov was out of line..?

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Polling comparisons from 2004 Date CON % LAB % LD% General election result 05/05/05 33.2 36.2 22.7 YouGov/Mail on Sunday 08/05/04 40 36 18 YouGov/Telegraph 29/04/04 39 35 19 MORI 19/04/04 34 36 22 ICM/Guardian 18/04/04 33 38 22 Populus/Times 04/04/04 34 34 22 YouGov/Telegraph 25/03/04 39 34 20 MORI 16/03/04 35 35 23 ICM/Guardian 11/03/04 35 37 21 Populus/Times 07/03/04 34 36 22 YouGov/Telegraph 26/02/04 39 34 21 ICM/Guardian 22/02/04 34 36 21 MORI/FT 16/02/04 35 36 21 Populus/Times…

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Is Iain Dale right to support Phil Woolas?

Is Iain Dale right to support Phil Woolas?

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Iain Dale has announced on his blog that he’s given £100 to the Phil Woolas defence fund because he believes that voters, not judges should decide elections. But what does he think of this from a court ruling in 1911 and which featured in the Woolas judgement. “The primary protection of this statute was the protection of the constituency against acts which would be fatal to freedom of election. There would be no true freedom of election, no real expression…

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Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

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Is this what the NUS president was hinting at? There’s been a lot of speculation that the NUS might be planning to run a candidate in the Oldham East & Saddleworth by election following strong hints by the president, Aaron Porter, in an interview on The Politics Show yesterday afternoon But surely the idea of a separate NUS challenge is a nonsense because the last thing that Porter, an aspiring career Labour politician, would want is to take any action…

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Angry politics, how should Labour react?

Angry politics, how should Labour react?

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by Jonathan with his Second Sunday Slot As the shockwaves of the credit crunch reverberate around the world, anger dominates the political agenda. Faced with public outrage, what should a politician do? Should they fight it, ignore it or try to re-direct that energy into the ballot box? The Tea Party proved that angry politics can work. The Republicans successfully harnessed anger over the economy to win control of the House. It was a remarkable turnaround considering the extent of…

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MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

MBE asks: Was it English votes for English fees?

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MPs regional breakdown Aye votes No votes Abstentions Total England 311 209 8 528 Northern Ireland 0 12 6 18 Scotland 6 51 2 59 Wales 8 32 0 40 ALL MPs 325 304 16 645 A guest slot on the big vote and the West Lothian Question Linlithgow and East Falkirk includes much of the late, lamented constituency of West Lothian. Last week its Labour MP, Michael Connarty, was one of 51 Scottish representatives to vote against Higher Education…

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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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