Was Speaker Martin right to come to Blair’s aid?

Was Speaker Martin right to come to Blair’s aid?

Why shouldn’t Cameron be allowed to raise the succession at PMQs? In a move that could have big ramifications the Speaker, Michael Martin, came to Tony Blair’s aid at PMQs this lunch-time when the Tory leader asked about the Labour succession. Amidst extraordinary scenes Martin ruled that the Prime Minister could not be asked about the Labour leadership. According to the BBC report Cameron responded: “Mr Speaker are you honestly saying we cannot ask the prime minister of the country…”….

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Has Cameron upset Rupert over the Iraq debate?

Has Cameron upset Rupert over the Iraq debate?

Is this why the Times and the Sun are carrying similar editorials? Probably the biggest risk that Cameron’s Tories took by voting against the Government in the Iraq debate was not the predictable charges of opportunism from the Labour benches but that he might have upset Rupert Murdoch whose News International corporation owns large parts of the media including the Times and the Sun. For although the Telegraph under its news editor might be coming more on side the new…

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Brown’s price tightens to pre-Cameron levels

Brown’s price tightens to pre-Cameron levels

Is the Iraq debate encouraging punters to back the Chancellor? With Tony Blair preparing to face a difficult session in the House of Commons tonight on calls for an inquiry in Iraq the best betting price on Gordon Brown being Tony Blair’s successor has tightened to 0.35/1 – a level that it has been at only once before since David Cameron’s election as Tory leader on December 6th. The price has been moving in this direction for the past three…

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Are Lib Dem voters still being loyal to Gordon?

Are Lib Dem voters still being loyal to Gordon?

Will today’s YouGov data give a better pointer to tactical voting? Detailed data from the October YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph, due out sometime today, should provide an indication of how tactical voting might impact on the next General Election. The poll, it will be recalled had a CON 46% – Lab 33% split to the question “If you had to choose, which would you prefer to see after the next election, a Conservative Government led by David Cameron…

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Why are punters ignoring 2006’s biggest elections?

Why are punters ignoring 2006’s biggest elections?

> This is your chance to bet on whether Bush gets a bloody nose? In terms of global importance by far the biggest elections anywhere in the world take place across America next Tuesday. If the polls have got this right then the Republican grip on Congress is set to come to an end and there could be a spill over in British politics. For after winning back the White House in 2004 on what was the biggest day ever…

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What should Gordon do about McDonnell?

What should Gordon do about McDonnell?

The illustration, with its imagery of the protests against the Iraq war, is the masthead from the campaign website of the only person so far to declare that he is standing for the Labour Leadership – the Hayes and Harlington MP and former Deputy to Ken Livingstone on the old GLC, John McDonnell. With much less being heard about a Reid or Johnson challenge the chances are that he could be the only alternative to Brown when next year’s race…

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Will the loans affair eventually bring Blair down?

Will the loans affair eventually bring Blair down?

Why is Cameron going easy with Blair on the succession? The main political story in the Sunday Times this morning is of developments in the police “loans for peerages” investigation that could blight the final months of Tony Blair’s time at Number 10 and impact on his departure time-table. According to the paper Labour’s chief fundraiser, Lord Levy, “has implicated Tony Blair as the key figure in the cash-for-honours scandal, a well-placed source has revealed.” Levy is said to have…

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Sean Fear’s local election commentary

Sean Fear’s local election commentary

Previewing the London Assembly Elections The London Assembly was established at the same time as the London Mayoralty. It is sometimes compared to the Greater London Council, although its powers are actually very limited by comparison. It has 25 members in total, of whom 14 are elected by first past the post, and 11 by a London-wide top up list, which allocates the remainder of the seats by a form of proportional representation. Each constituency covers two or three boroughs….

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