All over bar the voting?

All over bar the voting?

Will Netanyahu/Obama be any better for the peace process than Olmert/Bush? The lockstep between American and Israeli politics was graphically illustrated earlier this week, with IDF forces leaving Gaza as Obama was being inaugurated in Washington, Israel having “made hay while the sun shone” during the dying days of the Bush administration. From a purely Israeli viewpoint, the Gaza operation has probably been deemed more successful than the disastrous Lebanon war of 2006, but from my personal perspective, if Israel…

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Sixteen more months of meltdown for Labour?

Sixteen more months of meltdown for Labour?

More bad news for Brown in the Sundays 2009 now very much has the feel of 1996 – a government holding onto power in the hopes that “something will turn up”, but now looking increasingly likely that they will, like John Major’s Conservatives, be boxed in all the way to a May 2010 election which they will lose heavily. Kicking off the bleak news for the government this weekend was of course Friday morning’s announcement that the UK economy is…

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Remember “Cash for Questions” and the Tories..?

Remember “Cash for Questions” and the Tories..?

Now there’s “Cash for Laws” and Labour.. Who can forgot how the ongoing revelations about “cash for questions” totally undermined the final period of the last Tory government and added considerably to the image of “sleaze” which has taken a long time to shake off. Well the most striking feature from a quick look at tomorrow’s front pages is the Sunday Times which looks as though it has found a Labour equivalent. Could this do the same for Mr. Brown’s…

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Labour slips to a record low on the spreads

Labour slips to a record low on the spreads

PB’s “The Money Says Index”: CON Maj 56 seats Even though we have not had any news polls since the MORI survey on Monday the mood on the spread betting markets has continued to be away from Labour and onto the Tories. This morning’s changes bring the spreads to this – with changes on three days ago CON 350-356 (+4): LAB 226-232 (-4): LD 42-45 (nc). On the Monday before last, a few minutes before the January Populus poll came…

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Is Labour running scared of a “White backlash”

Is Labour running scared of a “White backlash”

What’s the electoral impact of the Harman “U-Turn”? The Guardian is running with a story that ‘fear of [a] backlash’ has forced the Government to abandon plans for so-called ‘all-blackshortlists’ in its new Equalities Bill, sponsored by Harriet Harman. The Bill is already a target for those who would claim the codification of ‘political correctness gone mad’ and Thursday’s close second place for the BNP in the East Wickham ward (Bexley) by-election seems to have been the straw on the…

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Gaudeamus PB.com

Gaudeamus PB.com

Peter the Punter ruminating on the site that Mike built The 5th Anniversary of the birth of our favorite Site arrives on Monday March 23rd and will be duly celebrated at the National Liberal Club from 6pm until they kick us out. More details will follow shortly but please put a note in your diaries now. By some peculiar coincidence my own first post was delivered on the Site’s first anniversary and Mike is able to tell from one of…

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Is an election required for confidence to return?

Is an election required for confidence to return?

Could this be the main argument for 2009? If you look at the betting markets or read the pundits then the strong view is that with the huge polling set-backs of recent weeks Brown is not going to call a general election in the foreseeable future. A 2009 election is off the agenda. He’ll want to, the argument goes, give himself the maximum time for the economic crisis to sort itself out and in any case his October 2007 U-turn,…

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How dangerous for Cameron is this move?

How dangerous for Cameron is this move?

Could he get accused of “talking Britain down”? The Guardian is reporting a speech by David Cameron to the Davos think-tank is which he raised the spectre of Britain having to go to the IMF in order to be kept afloat – something that last happened during the 1974-1979 Labour government. He’s quoted as saying:”…“If we continue on Labour’s path of fiscal irresponsibility, at some point – and it could be very soon – the money will run out,” Cameron…

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