Do they still hate the Tories more than Gordon? Just reading and watching what coverage there has been of the weekend’s Lib Dem conference it’s been hard to identify a discernible strategy for dealing with what could be the toughest general election for the party for thirty years. Maybe much more was said that didn’t make the public prints but what are we to make of comments like these quoted in the Times: “We remain a centre-left party” and “Many…
Has the bar been set even higher for Gord? At the last Euro elections on June 10th 2004 the national polls shares (excluding NI) had Labour in second place on just 22.6% a full four points behind the Tories. UKIP beat the Lib Dems into the third place slot. These were the 2004 shares: CON 26.7: LAB 22.6: UKIP 16.1: LIBD 14.9: GRN 6.3 In spite of the performance, it should be said, Tony Blair led Labour to its third…
What will be the size of the Barack boost? One of the consequences of the recession is that newspapers are looking closely at their polling budgets. The result is that we’ve seen far fewer non-scheduled surveys. Fortunately the regular monthly polls are so far unaffected and the next one due is Populus in the Times which hopefully will be out tomorrow night. In February the Tories were on 42 percent 14 ahead of Labour with the LDs on 18 percent….
Two new parties in a single day… After their success in forcing a ‘No’ vote on the Lisbon Referendum in Ireland, Declan Ganley’s LIBERTAS party has just sent out a Press Release announcing that they will be running for the European Parliament in the UK, as well as in every other member state. This confirmation may come as a surprise to some, as UKIP had registered the party name and run a candidate in a by-election to prevent Libertas from…
Morus comes off the fence It’s crucial for the integrity of PB.com that we are completely open about our allegiances and biases. Our Genial Host makes no secret of his Lib Dem membership, and I now need to be open about my allegiance. I have always been non-partisan, though never neutral, and still cannot bring myself to align with any of the political parties. For that reason, I’ve recently accepted a job helping run a new national campaign to support…
Guardian Online Can her leadership ambitions survive the Euros? Both in terms of betting opportunities and political intrigue, the Labour leadership will be the “gift that keeps giving” for the next eighteen months and maybe more. Today’s instalment is the news that Harriet has been lined up to run Labour’s campaign for the June Euro-elections. Labour secured less than 23% at the 2004 elections, one of the worst scores for a governing party in Europe, and are in serious danger…
Wikipedia International leaders to keep an eye on as the year unfolds 3. LK Advani (BJP, India) The US may claim to be the world’s greatest democracy, but India has no rivals as the world’s biggest. This massive country will hold the world’s longest general election this spring, with voting taking place from 16 April to 13 May – and in terms of leaders could also be the world’s oldest matchup, with current PM Manmohan Singh of Congress, 76, facing…
An update from Peter the Punter A positive response has been received from Pbers to the Party invitation put out recently and it is beginning to look as though we may get a bumper crowd. Among the acceptances are Cicero, NickM, NickP, David Herdson, Gideon, Augustus Carp, Chris A, Hertsmere Pubgoer, James Burdett, Jonny Jimmy, Richard Nabavi, Morus, Marf, Paul Maggs and Mike Smithson. The date chosen is Monday March 23rd 2009 which is exactly five years after Mike began…