Are the police right to use kettling?

Are the police right to use kettling?

Comments 0 Comment

Could it just increase the anger and violence? There’s been a strong defence by the Metropolitan police of their tactic of using what’s known as “kettling” yesterday in containing the fees protests in central London. The plan is simple – the demonstrators are trapped for many hours in order to prevent the possibility of mass attacks that could lead to violence and criminal damage on specific targets. Yesterday it was said that they were aiming for the Lib Dem offices…

Read More Read More

What do you do when your time is up?

What do you do when your time is up?

Comments 0 Comment

Plato reflects on the ending of political careers Falling on your sword for the good of the Party has never been a popular career choice for an aspiring politician, but are our MPs any less honourable than their predecessors? Most careers ending in ignoble resignation fall into four categories – a tabloid sex scandal, money and favours, a massive gaffe or a visit from the boys in blue. Simple incompetence barely registers, as the cross party praise for Estelle Morris…

Read More Read More

Is ConHome right to be getting excited?

Is ConHome right to be getting excited?

Comments 0 Comment

Is this the politics for those who believe the Diana conspiracy? The Daily Express is not one of those papers that often gets cited on PB, or indeed other political sites, for its most noted for its front pages on the Diana conspiracy and regular new cures for one form of cancer or another. So how are we to regard it’s launch of a campaign crusade today to get the UK out of the EU? Is this going to resonate…

Read More Read More

YouGov LD rating moves back to lowest level ever

YouGov LD rating moves back to lowest level ever

Comments 0 Comment

Latest PAPA shares – CON 37.2: LAB 38.4: LD 13.2 Tonight’s YouGov daily poll has more bad news for the Lib Dems – down to nine percent which equals their lowest share ever with the online polling firm. YouGov has been reporting significantly smaller LD shares than the other pollsters but the trend from all of them is the same – a declining share for the junior coalition partner. This has an impact on PAPA – the PB All Pollster’s…

Read More Read More

Introducing PAPA – the PB All Pollsters’ Average

Introducing PAPA – the PB All Pollsters’ Average

Comments 0 Comment

PB All Pollsters’ Average Date CON % LAB % LD % PAPA Current 24/11/10 37.6 38.4 13.4 PAPA October 2010 31/10/10 37.6 37.2 15.2 PAPA September 2010 30/09/10 37.8 37.0 14.8 PAPA August 2010 31/08/10 39.3 36.0 15.0 PAPA July 2010 31/07/10 40.0 36.7 15.0 PAPA June 2010 30/06/10 40.2 37.2 17.2 Labour edge upwards as the LDs dive Here it is – the first PB All Pollsters’ Average (PAPA) as was trailed on a thread last week. Taking in…

Read More Read More

Sam asks: Should it be really “Cool hand Ed”?

Sam asks: Should it be really “Cool hand Ed”?

Comments 0 Comment

A guest slot on the Labour leader as he returns to PMQs Much has been made of Ed Miliband’s decision making and lack of media coverage since becoming Leader of the Labour Party. Eyebrows were raised over the roles allocated to Alan Johnson and Phil Woolas; Johnson has made it clear there are differences of opinion on policy within the opposition, while the Woolas court case raised the issue of party unity. All the while Ed has been out of…

Read More Read More

I bet this comes up at PMQs tomorrow..

I bet this comes up at PMQs tomorrow..

Comments 0 Comment

This clip is doing the rounds tonight – the Alan Johnson REd slip, courtesy of Tim Montgomerie. Watching it doesn’t appear to be a gaffe at all. Maybe that is what he calls his party leader in private. The big political point is that the shadow chancellor seems to have a different view of the way forward than his leader. Mike Smithson