Is the 2.9/1 “Tories getting a majority” price worth taking? In the thread yesterday Marcus Wood, one the PB.C’s most long-standing contributors and pictured above when he stood for the Tories at Torbay in 2005, posted the following comment:- +++ BIG NEWS +++ I have broken the habit of a lifetime (no betting)and just opened an account on Betfair and placed a bet on an overall Con majority. I have to say to anyone not having done it before it…
The US pollster puts the three leaders and Gordon under the microscope The BNP story has somewhat overshadowed the latest focus group on Newsnight by the US pollster, Frank Luntz which was screened in two parts. These always make good television and the positive reactions of the panel last October played a big part in David Cameron’s bid for the Tory leadership. In the latest studies – available to watch here – Luntz tests the views of floating voters to…
Competition Time I am offering a £40 Amazon gift voucher to anyone who comes closest to predicting accurately the London Borough Election Results. It is quite straightforward. Each contestant will receive one point for guessing correctly the political control of each London borough after May 4th. You have five choices: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Other, or No Overall Control. No Overall Control means failure by any one party to win more than half of the seats on an authority. Thus,…
But is this just the YouGov “magnifier” working again? In a poll that will send shock waves throughout British politics a YouGov poll in the Daily Telegraph today puts support for the British National Party up from just above zero to seven per cent. In echoes of the internet pollster’s surveys in May 2004 showing a huge surge for UKIP ahead of the Euro elections YouGov has the following shares with changes on last month: CON 33%(-3), LAB 35%(-1), LD17%(-1),…
Will there be votes in selling the gas-guzzler? Whatever your politics you cannot but feel a touch of sympathy for new Lib Dem leader, Ming Campbell, who has felt it necessary to put his five litre 20 year old Jaguar XJS onto the market. With green issues suddenly accelerating up the political agenda it must have been quite a hard call for Campbell to know what to do about what was clearly his pride and joy. But why should he…
Ben’s journey from Labour to the Tories Long-standing PB.C regulars who followed the end of the Donald Rumsfeld thread on Sunday evening will have been shocked to read the exchanges about Ben’s move from Labour to the Tories. For Ben was one of the earliest, and at times most prolific, contributors to the site. For a long period ahead of the May 2005 General Election his regular and lucid postings added to many people’s understanding of how the contest was…
What do people think of tonight’s PPB? This evening saw the much launch of Labour’s much hyped vehicle to attack David Cameron. If you did not see the party political broadcast you can download it here. I’ve played it several times now and I just cannot work out whether it’s very clever and is going to have an impact or whether it’s just boring. The central message seems to be – don’t trust this guy because he’ll say whatever those…
Was it just a tactic to deal with the pressure of the moment Cast your mind back to the events leading up to to Tony Blair’s dramatic announcement on September 30th 2004 that he would serve a full third term but would stand aside before the next election. For what Blair said in that short statement on the eve of him going into hospital totally dominates the current political environment. But was his commitment to step aside before the end…