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After the lukewarm speech and a strike vote, will the unions call for a referendum? When Tony Blair was Prime Minister, it usually seemed as though his speech to the TUC was just something that had to be “got through”, and especially post-Iraq, it never looked like an occasion that Blair or the unions found either enjoyable or useful. Somewhat ironic then that Brown, who is far more steeped in Labour tradition than his predecessor ever was, even while being…

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A guest article by Harry Hayfield A “well hung” Parliament: Hammersmith : Con gain from Lab (Swing: 4.22% to Conservative) Now, I am sorry to disappoint all the lady readers here, but that’s not what you think it is. A well hung Parliament is a parliament where both the main parties have roughly the same number of seats and based on the boundary changes for this election, that would happen if the Conservatives gained 78 seats and Labour lost 70…

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Or is America deluding itself? The US top commander in Iraq, General Petraeus, is halfway through his two-day testimony on the effects of the troop surge, and has come under heavy criticism from the Democrat-controlled Congress. Petraeus has indicated that he thought around 30,000 troops could be withdrawn by the middle of next year, although reaction to his appearance was often split down party lines. Obviously this is a key political moment as the 2008 election approaches, and indeed both…

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Greece votes on Sunday with New Democracy the favourites Despite the recent fires which ravaged parts of the Peloponnese and the island of Evia near Athens, Greece will hold a snap general election on Sunday as planned, from 7am to 7pm local time. The parliamentary term was set to last until March, but speculation has arisen that the poll has been held early as the government feared the fallout from a bond scandal which looked set to intensify later this…

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One of the hottest topics in UK politics – but no betting market Whatever your views on whether or not the UK should hold a referendum on the EU Treaty, and regular readers of pb.com will know that there is passionate debate on the subject, the fact remains that there is as yet no chance for punters to back their hunches with a betting market on the subject. Pressure continues to build on Gordon, and this week’s TUC conference will…

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A guest article by Harry Hayfield Labour majority of 50: Sittingbourne and Sheppey : Lab GAIN from Con (Swing: 0.03% to Labour) Sittingbourne and Sheppey is another case of a seat turned upside down thanks to the Boundary Commission (although you’d be very hard pressed to see any changes on a map) turning a Lab majority of 79 into a Con majority of 22. I should point out though that Sittingbourne isn’t usually that marginal though. Go back to 1983…

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Politics stories at a newsagent near you The McCanns feature as the lead story on virtually all the newspapers. The Sunday Times reports that leading bankers are warning of the worst money markets crisis for 20 years coming to a head this week, and that the Conservatives are planning to offer tax cuts for people who make homes more energy-efficient. In the Observer, Andrew Rawnsley accuses Gordon of hugging his opponents to death while the editorial fulminates that the current…

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Who does he support if Scotland play England? When the draw was made for the Rugby World Cup there was probably a sigh of relief within Team Brown that the chances of Scotland having to play England seemed remote. But one of the consequences of France’s shock defeat by Argentina last night is that it makes the prospect of such a clash look more likely. For assuming matches go broadly to form then Scotland looked set to end up in…

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