Mail Online We’re back to more Labour leadership speculation “Oh no” I can hear you groan – not more on Gordon Brown and the Labour leadership. Alas it’s been some time since we did a thread on the subject but with the holidays coming to an end that’s all changing. The Mail on Sunday is carrying the above story about the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, making a scathing attack in a private meeting on his boss over how to attack the…
Conservatives 41%(-1) Labour 24%(nc) Lib Dems 18% (nc) Labour’s still in the mid-20s as the months are tick by The first ComRes poll in nearly a month is just out for tomorrow’s Indy on Sunday and follows the pattern of the other surveys this month in showing very little change in headline voting intentions. Here the one point drop by the Tories is well within the margin of error and is hardly significant. What will make the headlines tomorrow morning…
What are we to make of his Megrahi response? One of the headlines on Radio 4’s 1300 news was a denial by trade secretary, Peter Mandelson, that there was any link between the release of the Lockerbie bomber and British trade deals with Libya. His actual words did not actually say that. For he said that any suggestions that the release had been in return for trade deals were “offensive“. Now that is is not a denial. It’s a smart…
Is the climate after “expenses-gate” starting to change? Two separate developments over Julie Kirkbride – the Tory MP for Bromsgrove, and married to Andrew MacKay, MP for Bracknell who were featured in the expenses exposes. He, formerly a close advisor to David Cameron, has announced that he would be stepping down at the next election. But Julie did not go as quickly, or seemingly as willingly, but she did eventually announce her decision to join her husband in retirement, effective…
Was Kenny MacAskill the weakest link? The SNP could not be blamed for the celebrations in Tripoli last night when Megrahi arrived back in Libya but those TV pictures have certainly added to the challenge the party faces over its decision. The reaction of William Hills has been to lengthen the odds on the SNP winning the next Scottish Elections from 4/6 to 5/6 where they are now joint favourites with Labour. What the Tripoli TV pictures have underlined is…
Mail online Or should Utley have left it well alone? There’s an interesting attack on David Cameron in the Mail which I’m surprised has not got more attention. For the paper’s sometimes controversial columnist, Tom Utley takes the Tory leader to task over the why he uses his family, including his late son, Ivan, in the NHS argument. Utley’s focus is on those who argue about the NHS by reducing everything to their personal experiences. “..I find it deeply depressing,…
Should he have been making TV condemnations as well? Just looking at what happened yesterday with the release by the Scottish authorities of the Lockerbie bomber I cannot help but be reminded of Gordon Brown’s actions over the signing of the Lisbon Treaty. Then, it will be recalled, Brown was “unavoidably detained” on urgent business in London and so was unable to be part of the big signing ceremony with other EU leaders. So he flew in later and signed…
Will minimising TV appearances boost Labour’s ratings? Another news cycle goes by and another day passes without Gordon Brown appearing on our TV screens – something I commented on here a fortnight agi. I know it’s been the holiday season but as far as I can see he has made only three appearances in the past month – none of them contentious. One was to pay tribute to Harry Patch, the last World War veteran in Britain, who died at…