It is very hard not to be impressed by the sheer spectacle of today’s events with powerful images being beamed across the world. They certainly send a message out but I’m not so sure what that is and how it will be regarded. This is one of those days when PB’s focus on political betting should be put aside and I am not going to attempt to change that. All I can do is marvel at what we have seen….
The “Red Tops”” have gone black
One of the striking features of the national grief is how personally affiliated people felt towards the late Queen. A frequent comment from mourners in The Queue and similar vox pops was “it was like losing my granny”. Queen Elizabeth certainly had life well lived, and died peacefully aged 96 surrounded by her family, at home and having kept maintained good health until the last year of her life, and her mental sharpness to the very end. Barring immortality, that…
Political maps of England, whether parliamentary or council, often resemble multi-coloured archipelagos in a sea of blue. While urban areas are battlegrounds contested by all the larger parties, rural areas tilt strongly towards the Conservatives. This reservoir of seats on which the Cons have been able to rely for multiple electoral cycles gives them a solid base from which to reach for a majority, and leaves the opposing parties – Labour, LibDems and Greens – hoping for an occasional edge….
Amongst the oldies the number is 84% After more than a week when the total focus of the vast majority of people in the UK has been on the monarchy, YouGov has produced the above interesting polling which I’ve no doubt will be referred to again and again. The worrying number for the Palace is that 60% of those of 24 or under did not say that they support the monarchy. They are also less likely to have told YouGov…
The leading political scientist and polling expert, Prof John Curtice, has a great piece behind a PayWall in the New Statesman on how the public now views the monarchy. The numbers are not good for the new King who has waited so long. Curtice notes: ….public support for the monarchy has slipped to a new low. According to the most recent BSA, just 55 per cent now say it is important to have a monarchy, an all-time low, while a…
The US mid-term elections take place on November 8th and the general experience is that these are almost always a challenge for the party that controls the White House. As well as state and local elections all seats on the US House of Representatives are up for grabs as are 36 of the 100 seats on the US Senate. Representatives serve two-year terms while Senators serve 6 year ones. It will be recalled that two years ago the Senate saw…