Could this be the man who’ll decide the next Speaker?

Could this be the man who’ll decide the next Speaker?

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Is he a Bercow fan or does he have his own plans? The left-leaning Tory MP for Buckingham, John Bercow, continues to be the firm betting favourite to replace Michael Martin in the election a week on Monday and there’s a further write-up of his chances in the Daily Mail. As the report notes: “Labour ministers are plotting to install a Left-wing Tory MP hated by his own leaders as Commons Speaker. Several senior members of the Cabinet have told…

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A tale of two markets by Peter the Punter

A tale of two markets by Peter the Punter

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SportingIndex CON 358-363 LAB 202-207 LD 52-55 Betfair GE Party Line CON 350-355 LAB 205-207.5 LD 50-54.5 Why are the prices so different? Has anybody else noticed the discrepancy between the GE Spreads and Betfair’s ‘Party Seats Line’? The mid point sell of Labour on SPIN is 204.5; on the PSL it is 207.25. Not a lot of difference, you might think. But hold on. The PSL sell price should always be *lower* than the spreads, not higher, as it…

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The Speaker Election: Is Labour backing Margaret Beckett?

The Speaker Election: Is Labour backing Margaret Beckett?

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Could this be a consolation for losing her cabinet place? There’s a story just running on the First Post under the banner (Exclusive: Beckett for Speaker) which says “According to The First Post’s sources in the Labour Party, Margaret Beckett is ‘all but’ confirmed as favourite for the Speaker’s chair”. This is the first time her name has been mentioned and she does not even figure on the main betting markets. I’ve just got bets on by phone at 20/1…

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What’s the politics behind the 30 year rule change?

What’s the politics behind the 30 year rule change?

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Does Labour want Maggie’s records out before the election? One little item that stood out for me in Brown’s constitutional statement is the plan to reduce the so-called “30 year rule” to twenty years. This is the arrangement by which highly sensitive cabinet and other papers are made available for researchers to look at – but only thirty years after the events. So until now the latest documentation that we’ve seen has been of the Callaghan’s government in the period…

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Could Gord announce the election date today?

Could Gord announce the election date today?

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Would it be held at the same time as a referendum on PR? This is a completely wild guess but could the Prime Minister tell us the election date in his statement today on proposed voting reform? My thinking is that coming up with a date now would take away some of the pressure that he’s under within the party and also blunt the edge of all the Tory calls for an immediate general election. Brown will be only too…

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Has Janet Daly got PR all wrong?

Has Janet Daly got PR all wrong?

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Would it really block the Tories out forever? I suppose that this has been a period for ranting and perhaps I’ve been as guilty as anyone but have the Tories got the voting reform debate all wrong? Just read this description from Janet Daly for tomorrow’s Telegraph: “.. it is the most shameless attempt to rig the electoral process in living memory. What the “alternative vote” would mean is that it would be virtually impossible for the Conservatives ever to…

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Will Gord’s voting reform plan look like an act of desperation?

Will Gord’s voting reform plan look like an act of desperation?

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The overwhelming problem for Brown and his minsters in proposing electoral reform is that it looks like a reaction to Labour’s historic defeat at the polls in the Euro Parliament elections. It has the appearance of an act of desperation. For it was only two nights ago that the party was getting the terrible news about a total collapse of support in virtually every part of the country. So why start talking about the voting system now? If Labour had…

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Should the BBC tell Sugar “You’re fired from The Apprentice”?

Should the BBC tell Sugar “You’re fired from The Apprentice”?

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Is it compatible with his peerage and new position? A nice little problem for BBC bosses over Gord’s biggest re-shuffle gimmick – making the former Amstrad boss turned TV star, Sir Alan Sugar the government “Enterprise Czar” and giving him a peerage. He’ll sit on the Labour benches. Does his new political position mean that he should give up the show – something that BBC bosses will desperately try to avoid because “The Apprentice” is a ratings winner? A BBC…

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