Bad for the Tories – good for the LDs: This week’s Local By-Elections

Bad for the Tories – good for the LDs: This week’s Local By-Elections

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Aldwick West on Arun (Con defence) Result: Con 480 (35% -17% on last time), Lab 112 (8%, no candidate last time), Lib Dem 719 (53% +35% on last time), Green 54 (4%, no candidate last time) (No UKIP candidate this time -30%) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative with a majority of 239 (18%) on a swing of 26% from Con to Lib Dem Beaconsfield on Buckinghamshire (Con defence) Result: Con 1,298 (81% +11% on last time), Lib Dem 299 (19%…

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Mrs May has missed an opportunity and it could be costly

Mrs May has missed an opportunity and it could be costly

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Cyclefree reflects on a dramatic week It was Abba Eban who said of the Palestinians that “they never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” However true this may or may not be of the Palestinians, it is certainly true of Mrs May. One Cabinet resignation does not have to lead to a full-scale reshuffle, of course, particularly if the PM cannot be certain how many of the possible candidates have been guilty of knee touching, knee tremblers or any…

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The Williamson appointment makes it even less likely that TMay will stay until Brexit

The Williamson appointment makes it even less likely that TMay will stay until Brexit

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Good from @IsabelHardman on TMay's authority being undermined further by promoting Gavin Williamson https://t.co/zf1bv75Yw1 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) November 2, 2017 I’ve long regarded Isabel Hardman (daughter of my former BBC colleague and friend, founder of CAMRA, Mike Hardman) as one of the best when it comes to taking the pulse of the Parliamentary Conservative Party and her latest piece on the reaction to the Williamson appointment doesn’t disappoint. What stands out is that this is a huge surprise. Ladbrokes…

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The Chief Whip who failed to stop LAB’s tricky Brexit motion last night gets promoted

The Chief Whip who failed to stop LAB’s tricky Brexit motion last night gets promoted

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Williamson moves up sharply in the leadership betting The main job of the Chief Whip is, of course, to ensure that the government’s business gets through the Commons – a job made much more challenging following TMay’s failure to hold onto enough seats on June 8th to maintain the Tory majority. Last night the government suffered what could be a problematical defeat on a Labour motion on the Brexit impact effect on key sectors – information that it has been…

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Mrs May needs to use the Fallon vacancy to bring in new talent

Mrs May needs to use the Fallon vacancy to bring in new talent

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Why she should follow the example of Michael Howard One of the things that is often commented on as people discuss who will be the next Tory leader is how underwhelming the obvious front runners appear. If you look at the betting there is no clear choice and this is an opportunity for Mrs May to plan for the future of her party by promoting people who could grow and become the leaders of tomorrow. I was always impressed by…

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