Should Labour’s first priority be to avoid the blame?

Should Labour’s first priority be to avoid the blame?

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Do the winners always write the history? One of the dangers for Labour, magnified during the coverage over the past couple of days, is that the coalition are placing much of the blame for what’s happened on the last government. All the painful measures that ministers are announcing are predicated with the argument that this is all required because they are having to “clear up the mess that was bequeathed to them”. The message that the coalition is trying to…

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MORI finds growing support for the need for cuts

MORI finds growing support for the need for cuts

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But voters split over whether the plans are right Ipsos-MORI has got the first post-CSR poll out and finds both good and bad news for the coalition. While overall there is acceptance that cuts are needed the public is evenly split on whether the government has made the right decisions. A total of 41% think it has made the right decisions and 38% the wrong decisions. Those who voted Conservative at the general election are most likely to think the…

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Will the coalition get blamed when the cuts are specific?

Will the coalition get blamed when the cuts are specific?

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The first reaction to the cuts statements There was a little bit of polling last night about the spending review but most of the fieldwork for the YouGov daily poll took place before the CSR statement was made. An interesting angle comes from the firm’s Anthony Wells – who runs UKPR. He wrote:- “The most interesting question there though was who people thought was to blame. 30% said the coalition and 34% said the last Labour government. Compare that to…

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Can Labour make the ideological charge stick?

Can Labour make the ideological charge stick?

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Is this what will determine the public’s reaction? What struck me about Alan Johnson’s response to the statement and the interviews with Labour figures over the past few hours was that their initial line of attack was that the cuts package is being imposed for ideological reasons. The suggestion being that many Tories want a smaller state and they are using the “cover” of the deficit to make changes in the way the that country operates for more than just…

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So how will it all look by the weekend?

So how will it all look by the weekend?

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Is the devil within the detail? Several people have commented that this statement was very much like a Gordon Brown budget. It was certainly astute as a means of dealing with the political needs of the moment but will it stand up to scrutiny. How’s it all going to look in a few days times when it’s been subject to the most intense examination. What was very Brownesque was the way Osborne finished – claiming that what they were doing…

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Is this the day that will decide the next election?

Is this the day that will decide the next election?

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Will Osborne’s big gamble succeed? Well we are here at least – what will almost certainly be the defining day of the coalition government. If Osborne & co have got this right then the this will be seen in an improving economy as we get nearer to 2015 which could produce a second victory for a Cameron-led government, with or without the Liberal Democrats. If the Osborne medicine is wrong then the political consequences for the coalition partners could be…

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So what would you do Mr. Richards?

So what would you do Mr. Richards?

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Twitter Isn’t this a bit melodramatic? Generally I’ve got a lot of time for the Indy’s Steve Richards but his Tweet a few minutes has left me almost speechless. Yes we do have vibrant cities but I don’t get this reference to the 80s. Yes Labour was out of power for the entire decade and seven years more but that was largely due to choosing unelectable leaders. Neither Foot nor Kinnock were ever going to be the match for Mrs….

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