A measure of the anti-elite backlash will be when when a non-dark blue educated leader becomes a GE winner

A measure of the anti-elite backlash will be when when a non-dark blue educated leader becomes a GE winner

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It is not hard to spot the trend here General Election Winning party leader Alma mater 1945 Clement Attlee University of Oxford 1950 Clement Attlee University of Oxford 1951 Winston Churchill Non graduate 1955 Anthony Eden University of Oxford 1959 Harold Macmillan University of Oxford 1964 Harold Wilson University of Oxford 1966 Harold Wilson University of Oxford 1970 Edward Heath University of Oxford 1974 Feb Harold Wilson University of Oxford 1974 Oct Harold Wilson University of Oxford 1979 Margaret Thatcher…

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When LAB eventually gets over its Corbyn-madness Keir Starmer would be an effective replacement

When LAB eventually gets over its Corbyn-madness Keir Starmer would be an effective replacement

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Nobody knows when Corbyn is finally going to step down but that surely is bound to happen in the not-too distant future. At some point the party will get over its temporary madness and decide that winning elections is once again a priority. How and when that will happen is hard to predict. His uber-loyalists won’t have anything said against their man and woe betide anyone, as I’ve discovered in the past 24 hours, who raises doubts about JC’s electability….

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Theoretically at least TMay is the leader with biggest challenge keeping support together over BREXIT

Theoretically at least TMay is the leader with biggest challenge keeping support together over BREXIT

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Anti-BREXIT yellows can siphon away blue votes as well as red ones. While most pundits appear to have focused on Labour’s problems over BREXIT let’s not forgot that the Tory support base is even more divided. YouGov’s latest BREXIT tracker published yesterday had the above splits in party supporters view of the issue that’s set to define British politics. As can be seen the Tory voter base goes 63% right to 33% wrong on current views of the BREXIT vote….

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Getting a sense of proportion over rail fares: the overwhelming majority of voters not affected

Getting a sense of proportion over rail fares: the overwhelming majority of voters not affected

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Map by Ian Warren of @Election_data The big return to work and the hardy annual – rail fare increases If ever there was a political issue that highlights the London-centric nature of Britain’s media it is rail fares. Today’s the big return to work after the holidays and the annual price rise come into effect with the usual annual rail fares stories in much of the MSM. Yet thanks to Ian Warren for his excellent map showing the proportion of…

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Labour: The party that’s too weak to win but too strong to die

Labour: The party that’s too weak to win but too strong to die

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LAB – too weak to win too strong to die. Excellent Fabian Soc report in Guardianhttps://t.co/kqq033vWHk — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) January 2, 2017 More good news for Theresa in Fabian society report The first working day of 2017 opens with a gloomy report on Labour’s prospects from the Fabian Society covered in the Guardian. The overall conclusion is that the party could drop to fewer than 150 MPs, driven by difficulties articulating a BREXIT policy, the ongoing Scottish disaster and…

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CON slips 3 and LAB drop to 24% in new YouGov Times poll

CON slips 3 and LAB drop to 24% in new YouGov Times poll

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The squeeze on LAB from Yellow and Purple continues Unlike the last last parliament when there was at least one poll every single day for more than four years surveyd are now few and far between at the moment. The only regular (monthly or more) Westminster voting polls are coming from just four firms – YouGov, ICM, Opinium and Ipsos MORI. At least individual polls are not having a greater impact. The big picture is the continuation of the sorry…

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