Is this the first sign that Tories are taking charge?

Is this the first sign that Tories are taking charge?

What’s the political impact of power seeping away from Labour One of the greatest weapons in the armoury of any government is that it has power. It can use it to influence the media agenda and, of course, to further its political position. But is that starting to change with the growing realisation that is is not as strong as it was? In a Times comment this morning Sam Coates makes this acute observation: “The Mayor of London’s decision to…

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Has Joe Biden got the toughest job here tonight?

Has Joe Biden got the toughest job here tonight?

Will it be the non-political interaction that matters most? The picture is the hall at the university in St. Louis as it was being prepared for the only VP debate of the 2008 Presidential election that will take place tonight. There has been enormous interest especially over whether Sarah Palin will be able to hold her own. Expectations for her are certainly at rock bottom follow some terrible TV interviews where her lack of knowledge and her home-spun manner have…

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The Tories move up a couple of notches on the spreads

The Tories move up a couple of notches on the spreads

Are punters anticipating a polling boost? David Cameron’s conference speech seems to have gone down well on the spread betting markets where there has been a shift to the Tories this morning. Sporting Index has moved up two seats and is now only four seats below the market high in mid-September when an Ipsos-MORI poll came in with a 28% Tory lead. In this form of betting punters “trade” the number of seats as though they were stocks and shares…

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Now let’s wait for the opinion polls

Now let’s wait for the opinion polls

Can we really envisage him being at Number 10? One thing that we are learning from the McCain-Obama battle in the US is that instant reactions by the media and professional commentators are not always the best guide to the public’s mood. Thus a week ago the first debate was scored by most of the experts as being a McCain win or a tie – yet the polling this week has been all towards the Democratic contender. So I’m holding…

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So will the “crap sandwich” make progress tonight?

So will the “crap sandwich” make progress tonight?

Have the markets been right to be optimistic? So it’s back to another nail-biter over the bail-out bill – described at the weekend by the Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, as a “crap sandwich”. This time it will be in the senate where there’s said to be more support than in the House of Representatives. The markets seem to be assuming that it will go through – given the way stocks have recovered. We’ll see because if it doesn’t then…

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Has Cameron dealt with the “novice” jibe”?

Has Cameron dealt with the “novice” jibe”?

Will experience triumph over calls for change? Given the lead-up to this afternoon’s speech – the partial recovery of Labour in the polls and the global financial crisis – Cameron had one overwhelming objective: to look and sound like the prime minister in waiting. This was all about setting the tone and style right. For unlike almost any other event during the political year the party leader’s main conference speech is the one that gets extra special treatment by the…

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Guardian reader boost for Cameron – or is it?

Guardian reader boost for Cameron – or is it?

What happens when you publish a voodoo poll Every so often people come on the site with news of an online poll in one outlet or another and seek to suggest that they are representative of public opinion. Well they are not for the simple reason that those who bother to take part are self-selecting and by definition not representative of the electorate. Also if you have several computers or are smart enough you can vote as often as you…

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Is Brown’s lack of vocabulary the reason he’ll lose?

Is Brown’s lack of vocabulary the reason he’ll lose?

Click on panel to watch Why doesn’t he try to make what he says interesting? On the thread last night James A posted a link to one of Brown’s hurriedly arranged interviews yesterday and raised the issue of the PM’s lack of variation in the words that he uses. Just click on the panel and watch it for 90 seconds and you’ll hear him saying the same thing using the same few words time and time again. There’s no recognition…

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