The evening goes on
Twitter The Observer front page
Wow – what’s this going to do?
“..Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, became so alarmed by the prime minister’s behaviour that he launched his own investigations when he received reports of Brown’s bullying of staff. O’Donnell then gave the prime minister a stern “pep talk†and ordered him to change his behaviour. “This is no way to get things done,†he told Brown. The revelation that the prime minister’s behaviour was so extreme that it triggered a warning from Whitehall’s most powerful official will shock the…
YouGov: Labour loses just one voter in 12 from 2005
CON 39% (39) LAB 33% (32) LD 17%(18) The Tories remain stable as the Labour share grows? If it’s Saturday it must be poll night and I’m aware of two that we could see in tomorrow’s papers and possibly a third. First up is YouGov’s daily poll which initially is running in the Tuesday to Friday editions of the Sun and the Sunday Times stepping up to seven days a week when the election is declared. An hour or so…
Do councillors matter more than Michael Ashcroft?
Commons Library Research – 2009 local elections Is it their resource that’s making the difference in the marginals? This is to highlight the excellent piece put up on PB2 a few hours ago by Bunnco – in his series of what might be causing the bigger swings in the marginals. For in his second look at the issue he suggests that the massive decline in Labour councillors in the key seats together with the corresponding increase in Tory ones might…
Could an early election still be on?
And if so, are the odds worth it? After the abject failure of the Hoon-Hewitt plot, I commented that Brown would definitely lead Labour into the election and that the election would be on May 6. My reasoning was that the almost complete lack of support that was evident for Hoon and Hewitt’s position made Brown unassailable: it not only demonstrated Brown’s then current strength but would also so discourage any future plots from even getting that far. With Brown…
The MORI election fact of the day
Young women – like the Tories but what about Dave? This is Ipsos-MORI’s polling “fact of the day”: Since 2005, the Conservatives have particularly gained ground among women, especially women aged 18-34. Among this age-group, the proportion of women saying they intend to vote Conservative has risen dramatically since the 2005 election (from 22% to 37%). This does not seem to be driven by satisfaction with David Cameron as party leader, however; over the last year women aged 18-34 were…
How far down the list before a Tory gain?
Ladbrokes politics markets What’s the best bet on this new market? Ladbrokes, which is now offering prices on every seat in Britain, has now introduced a new market which will both get us talking and, no doubt, parting with our money. The concept is similar to one the firm developed for the 2008 White House race – you’ve got to go down the list and decide which will be the first to be a Conservative gain. I’m completely intrigued by…
So what does this all mean?
Times online Could Purnell become a thorn in the side of Brown Central? News has just come in that the one time Labour leadership contender, James Purnell, is to stand down at the general election. It will be recalled that the former Work and Pensions Secretary resigned from the cabinet as the polls closed on June 4th 2009 in a move that appeared designed to put pressure on Brown. He was expected to have been the flag-carrier for the Blairite…