The harsh facts that the leadership contenders need to face

The harsh facts that the leadership contenders need to face

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Lawyers are rarely regarded with affection.  Lawyers-turned-politicians even less so.  Nonetheless David Gauke’s speech at this week’s Lord Mayor’s banquet is worth a careful read, not least for its defence of the rule of law as a critical element underpinning democracy (a word never off the lips of some politicians wholly ignorant that something more than shouting “The people have voted” repeatedly is needed to sustain a democracy).  Gauke’s quiet praise for the unfashionable virtues of public service, intellectual rigour, a…

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Speculation over 2019 election has punters now making it a 42% chance

Speculation over 2019 election has punters now making it a 42% chance

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Betfair Exchange historical prices from betdata.io With political uncertainty continuing to dominate British politics the chances of a general election this year have moved to a 42% chance on Betfair. This is not the highest it has ever been but, as the chart shows, it represents considerable change. I’m not convinced. I think the new CON leader, most likely Boris, will do anything that avoids an early exit that could deprive him of what he has been aiming for for…

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LAB drops to record low in latest YouGov Times poll

LAB drops to record low in latest YouGov Times poll

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BREAKING: Labour down to 18%, record low in poll CON 24%(+2)BREX 23%(+1)LDEM 20%(+1)LAB 18%(-2)GRN 9%(-1) ?Lowest ever rating with @YouGov back to 2002 ?Only time as low as 18% was IpsosMORI in May’09 ?57% of Lab ‘17 voters back other partieshttps://t.co/DdJkLH2g8b pic.twitter.com/WJrZaHwXXv — Matt Chorley (@MattChorley) July 3, 2019 Paying the price for its Brexit equivocation? It is not often outside election campaigns for a paper like the Times to make its main story it a Westminster voting intention poll…

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Biden pushed into third place in Iowa – the first state to decide

Biden pushed into third place in Iowa – the first state to decide

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NEW IOWA poll from @davidbinder , via @linkiowa pro-ethanol group, shows a wiiiide open caucus after the first debate: WARREN: 20HARRIS: 18BIDEN: 17SANDERS: 12PETE: 10 note: N = 600, which is as big as some of the Dem samples in public polling *national* samples. — Jonathan Martin (@jmart) July 3, 2019 The reverberations from the first debates continue For several decades the state of Iowa has played a key part in shaping White House race every four years. For its…

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A taste of PMQs with PM Johnson? How he handled City Hall question time while London Mayor

A taste of PMQs with PM Johnson? How he handled City Hall question time while London Mayor

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And what did over a sugar tax when Mayor The Boris war on sugar taxes comes just two and a half years after he imposed a similar measure at City Hall while Mayor of London https://t.co/1RCUXibcNE — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 3, 2019 Mike Smithson Follow @MSmithsonPB Tweet

Robert Peston suggesting that the battle between Hunt and Johnson much tighter than anybody thought

Robert Peston suggesting that the battle between Hunt and Johnson much tighter than anybody thought

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Johnson supporter: “Right now I would say it is only 60:40 Boris wins” With voting now taking place amongst CON members ITV’s Politcal Editor, Robert Peston writes on the Coffee House blog “According to one of Johnson’s more senior and respected supporters, the questions raised about whether he treats women with proper respect and has the powers of concentration and grasp of important detail necessary for any PM have been gnawing at the consciences of more Tory members than is…

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Now the Johnson campaign gets referred to the Information Commissioner for alleged data protection breaches

Now the Johnson campaign gets referred to the Information Commissioner for alleged data protection breaches

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Harriet Baldwin has asked the ICO if the Johnson campaign’s alleged use of mailing lists is legal David Morris says the ICO must investigate “deeply troubling” claims Ben Howlett and Tory councillors complaining about unsolicited calls from Team Boris https://t.co/jCn2j4wuX3 — Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) July 2, 2019 Quite what this means for the campaign is unclear but if it sets off a narrative that Johnson’s likely victory was by cheating that could hang over him for a long time. This…

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