Mortgage payments increasingly becoming a big issue

Mortgage payments increasingly becoming a big issue

Not quite the worst but getting close This chart from the Spectator sets out what is increasingly becoming a problem for Sunak’s government and unless there is an easing ahead of the election the Tory seat losses could be very high indeed. Making historical comparisons is always tricky and I like the approach here – how it impacts on first-time buyers. Sunak will be hoping for something to change between now and election day whenever he decides to call it….

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Can the LDs become the third party once again?

Can the LDs become the third party once again?

An interesting element of the next election on which Ladbrokes have a market is whether the LDs can win more seats than the SNP. The bookie rates this being the case as being tighter than evens. The party had been the third in number of MPs for many decades until GE2015 at the end of the coalition when its seat total was reduced to single figures. At the same time the SNP, in the aftermath of the IndyRef took 56…

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Are the SNP too wee, too poor, too stupid to fight an election?

Are the SNP too wee, too poor, too stupid to fight an election?

One of the stories lost in the maelstrom of Nicola Sturgeon’s arrest last month was that in the first three months of 2023 the SNP received just £4,000 (yes four thousand pounds) in donations. As The National pointed out ‘The SNP’s money all came from one donor, James Murdoch from Strathearn, and was received on February 8, just a week before Nicola Sturgeon resigned.’ Meanwhile for every one pound the SNP raised Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib Dems received fifty…

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Rishi’s summer and autumn of discontent

Rishi’s summer and autumn of discontent

It is possible that a plethora of by election defeats in supposedly safe seats could see Sunak ousted before the next election, we could see three of these defeats later on this month and we could see a fourth soon. As the tweet above indicates Chris Pincher’s behaviour will be severely reprimanded. Majority wise Tamworth is a smaller numerical majority than Selby & Ainsty it would actually need a larger swing than Selby & Ainsty to see the Tories ousted…

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No seat is safe: Tory by-election defences

No seat is safe: Tory by-election defences

Sometimes one question gives you every answer. Are we living through another 1996, or another 1991? The Tories are riven with infighting and far behind in the polls with at most 18 months to go until the election, but some see parallels to John Major’s predicament before he won the 1992 election. That election was won against expectations in large part due to his personal popularity. While ‘The Government’ had deeply negative ratings throughout 1991 and early 1992 he never…

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Time is running out for Rishi to turn this round

Time is running out for Rishi to turn this round

We are now seeing quite a lot of polls with the Tories 20% or more behind Labour and, of course, time is running out. The election is almost certain to take place next year and unless there is a sea-change in public opinion the Tories will be leaving Number 10. One thing that Sunak has that could be crucial is the ability to choose the election date. My guess is that he’ll hope for an early summer election a few…

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The Rwanda policy just reinforces negative views of the Tories

The Rwanda policy just reinforces negative views of the Tories

This looks like a massive misjudgment by Sunak Maybe it is because of his own family background but I think Sunak is at his weakest when dealing with immigration issues. It is as though he feels he has to show how tough he is even though the public is much more likely to take a more liberal view. The latest court decision puts him a quandary and it is hard to see a resolution now before the general election. I…

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LAB majority hits new high in the general election betting

LAB majority hits new high in the general election betting

Given the way that almost all of the polls have moved even more away from the Tories in recent weeks, it is hard to argue that punters have got this wrong. My main worry about this bet is that there it still time for the Tories to decide to change leader and I do believe that Penny Mardaunt would be far more voter-friendly option for the election. The current big idea by the Tories is to attack Starmer for being…

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