Are we underestimating his resilience and cunning? Well we are here. The end of of the G20 and an agreement from which Brown can take a lot of credit and might, just might, provide the basis that gives him just a chance of holding on. Regular PBers will know that I’m not always the PM’s biggest fan but I’ve been struck by Brown’s resolve and determination over the G20. For months he has made this day in London’s docklands his…
Tom Watson MP G20 They’ve made provision for 1,000 – just 50 have turned up? Above is a clip from Tom Watson MP’s blog from the G20 conference centre in East London which raises more questions than it answers. For apparently, according to Watson who for more than half a decade has been a pioneer in this area, provision has been made for many more bloggers than have actually turned up. He writes: “I’m sitting in a vast airport hangar…
Has the Times got this one right? Here’s a selection of front pages after a dramatic news day in London. There are so many angles that it’s hard to pick up a coherent thread yet I wonder whether in historical significance the Times highlights the most important story – the Obama and Medvedev statement on nuclear stockpiles. In the UK, of course, everything is looked at in the context of something that has only happened once in the past thirty…
The Money still suggests a CON majority of 56 seats There have been periods when we’ve covered the latest commons seats spread prices on a daily basis as market sentiment has moved between the main parties. Since late January, however, things have remained almost static with hardly any movement at all. The above are the prices from SportingIndex and suggest a mid-point for the Tories of 353 seats. That’s 28 more than the 325 required for an overall majority –…
Is this the one that is resonating? On the day of protests all over London and the G20 leaders gathering for the big meeting tomorrow it was interesting that Cameron should have used his first line of attack at PMQs to focus on MPs expenses. This is especially the case now that now it’s becoming something of rarity to see Mr. Brown actually being there on a Wednesday – he’s usually got something much more important to do. I’ve been…
Will they never know what it’s like to be the opposition? Unless there’s a dramatic change in the fortunes of the main parties in the next twelve months it’s likely that the number of seats changing hands could be approaching, or may even be higher, than that which we saw in Tony Blair’s landslide in 1997. Then John Major’s Conservatives had a net loss of 171 seats with Labour seeing a net increase of 147 and the Lib Dems 26….
Will the police measures distract attention from the meeting itself With world leaders arriving in London for Thursday’s G20 meeting in the capital a big police operation is going on to ensure that the gathering itself can take place in relative peace and safety. Given the bomb attacks in London in July 2005 when the G8 meeting was taking place in Gleneagles there’s obviously a worry about police over-stretch. Meanwhile the person ostensibly in charge of all of this, Jacqui…
What do MPs do to justify all their cash? This morning Ermintrude made a point that is worth its own thread – what is it that MPs do to justify all the cash that they get. Expressing the hope that a realistic appraisal of an MPs role should come out of this mess he wrote: “What bugs me is the frequent suggestion that their jobs are equivalent to other professional like headteachers or GPs. They’re not.” This reminds me of…