My Christmas eve bet that TMay will still be PM at the end of next year

My Christmas eve bet that TMay will still be PM at the end of next year

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Moggsy’s failed confidence move gives her 12 months immunity On the day of this month’s confidence vote amongst Tory MPs on Theresa May the PM declared that it was her intention not to lead the party into the next general election. If we stick with the Fixed Term Parliament Act timetable that means any time before the spring of 2022. That might have helped her in fending off Moggsy’s ill-judged move which also provided her with the additional bonus that…

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This could have been the moment that Cameron and his mother ensured Corbyn would one day become PM

This could have been the moment that Cameron and his mother ensured Corbyn would one day become PM

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After the referendum Dave’s worst blunder as leader? Just before Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader in September 2015 I wrote a piece for PB offering Jeremy Corbyn some fashion advice. That piece was inspired by the fact that earlier on that summer I had visited the House of Commons and has seen Jeremy Corbyn living up to the Steptoe Corbyn meme and I wasn’t sure to give Corbyn some loose change. It wasn’t just me who thought Corbyn had dire…

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Corbyn’s “Brexit goes ahead if LAB won snap election” arouses furious response from many witihn his party

Corbyn’s “Brexit goes ahead if LAB won snap election” arouses furious response from many witihn his party

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Corbyn faces furious Labour backlash over backing Brexit https://t.co/BXrnYJbJnk — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) December 23, 2018 Fuck you, Jeremy. A great big, left wing, liberal, child-of-an-immigrant, product of globalisation, Europe-loving *FUCK* *YOU*. Just angry I fell for yr holier-than-thou-ness & yr appearance of wanting the right thing for yr own country. Just a big old lie. You need to go, now. https://t.co/fLxfum8joJ — G #blacklivesmatter #noPlanetB #keepitintheground (@eurasiafantasia) December 21, 2018 I was a Labour Party member for 20 years….

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Paddy Ashdown (1941-2018) RIP

Paddy Ashdown (1941-2018) RIP

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It was announced about an hour ago that Paddy Ashdown, the first leader of Lib Dems has died at the age of 77. Two months ago he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. Normally we don’t run obits on PB but I’m making an exception with Paddy who is someone I knew and had great respect for. He was the leader of the LDs from its formation in 1987 and saw the parliamentary party move from 22 seats to 46…

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This surely hits the nail on the head – Corbyn would prefer TMay’s deal to go through than risk another referendum

This surely hits the nail on the head – Corbyn would prefer TMay’s deal to go through than risk another referendum

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I’ve never been more convinced that Corbyn privately wants May’s deal to pass – perhaps even with the unauthorised support of some of his own MPs. Have always said, if Lab leadership wanted another vote to be Lab policy it would be. Simple as that. They don’t and it isn’t. — Keiran Pedley (@keiranpedley) December 22, 2018 With this tweet Keiran Pedley, of the PB/Polling Matters podcast sets out what to my mind is a very strong pointer. From the…

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Why Corbyn could be the one to extend Article 50 in the New Year

Why Corbyn could be the one to extend Article 50 in the New Year

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The Brexit vote could give him a few days of government – what would he do with it? FTPA doesn’t just stand for Fixed Term Parliaments Act; it can equally be Freedom to Piss About, which seems appropriate given the casually reckless approach taken to the Brexit ratification process by just about all sides. The government willingly risks no deal as a bargaining tactic to better the chances of its own deal being agreed; Labour willingly risks it to increase…

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New Northern Ireland polling suggests that a no deal Brexit could lead to what the IRA never achieved – a united Ireland

New Northern Ireland polling suggests that a no deal Brexit could lead to what the IRA never achieved – a united Ireland

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How the Brexit hard-liners are gambling with the Union Generally speaking Northern Ireland gets ignored in national polls which are confined to England, Wales and Scotland. This is because the party structure in the province is very different with most people voting on sectarian lines. This Northern Ireland polling from Lucid Talk seeks to test opinion on possible impact of a no deal Brexit on the future of the province and whether there is more or less support for unification…

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Dangerous corner. Where would we be now if Remain had won 52:48?

Dangerous corner. Where would we be now if Remain had won 52:48?

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The musical cigarette box played the Wedding March. Britain chose narrowly but decisively to vote to leave the EU. One of the frustrations with the universe that we live in is that we never get to see what would have happened if things had panned out differently.   What if the country had chosen differently? Imagine if Remain had won by the same narrow margin.  Where would we be now? Here’s one possibility… David Cameron had got so far sketching…

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