Rarely has that old cliché seemed so true. On Saturday, Anthony King wrote that “Mr Cameron looks increasingly like a rich man’s Iain Duncan Smith” and with the Tories behind by double digits in the polls he had the number to back up his point. Tory modernisers were fretting about how an increased Labour majority
If there is a snap election, I suspect the resurgent Scottish National Party’s television campaign will look something like this…
If there is a snap election, I suspect the resurgent Scottish National Party’s television campaign will look something like this…
Ben Brogan’s blog makes available to the punter the kind of lobby corridor gossip which I’d have given my right arm to be privy to when I was a press gallery minnow. He’s one of the best informed in the place – so when he rules out an autumn election, it’s significant. His rationale makes
This morning the chances of an early election have receded considerably but it is not over yet. Gordon Brown receives internal polling today and tomorrow and if these numbers look good he might still go for it. Indeed, if one was a Labour Pangloss one might even say that there is a benefit in the
This morning’s polls will be causing consternation in Downing Street. ICM in The Guardian finds the two parties level on 38 points and Populus for The Times has Labour ahead 39 to 36. If Labour went for an election now it is far from certain that Gordon Brown would increase his majority. To go to
Christopher Hitchens’ piece in this month’s Vanity Fair is quite something. Mark Daily, a young officer in the Seventh Cavalry, volunteered for the army despite his reservations about the wisdom of the war in part because some of Christopher’s articles inspired him to do so. Hitch’s latest piece reflects on that heavy burden (shared to
Yes, I’d noticed this part of Cameron’s speech too: And those changes have brought us success, in local elections we have taken Plymouth, we have taken Lincoln, we took Chester, we took the council right here in Blackpool and as William reminded us in that great speech on Sunday we are back in the North
Garance picks up on Ann Coulter’s latest grenade: deny women the vote and all America’s problems would disappear. As GFR says, this should be a gift for Democrats: I would like to see that quote, “If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democratic president. It’s kind of
I’ve written before that I think the wailing and gnashing of teeth over Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of the Wall Street Journal is, like, way overblown. Still, via James Fallows, you gotta laugh at this still from the most recent episode of The Simpsons:
It’s 7pm and the Channel 4/YouGov poll is out: Lab40, Tory36, LibDem13. Now, 40% isn’t bad for Labour – but a lead that’s shrunk from 11 points to 4 emphasises the volatility of polls in an era where party identification and tribal loyalties have never been weaker. We must factor in the post-conference bounce, so
I’m hearing unconfirmed reports that the Channel Four/YouGov poll has Labour’s lead reduced to four points. The last YouGov poll (for the Telegraph) had a Labour lead of 11 points. Given the margin of error in these polls, that takes us into reduced majority territory for Brown. The phrase “come and have a go if
The Tories have issued a document defending their plan to pay for the £3.5bn cost of their inheritance tax cut by taxing non dom. Still, the only source they can cite for their claim there will be 150,000 non doms to tax is Accountancy Age magazine. That’s because there is no reliable data: the Tories
I’m certainly not suggesting that any of the political parties follow this particular source of inspiration but if you want to see, terrifyingly clearly, exactly where Hitler got a great many of his ideas about military parades, civic display and how to combine an appealing brand of paganism with symbolic Christianity, look no further than
A huge screen behind the stage at the Dorchester Hotel yesterday showed Montserrat Caballé singing for a hot-dog in a café. Sadly, she wasn’t there in person to collect the Lifetime Achievement award at the Classic FM Gramophone Awards. Neither was Steven Isserlis present, but his friend Barry Humphries — in the wittiest speech of
I must have been watching some other conference. Judging by the general view taken of David Cameron’s speech to the Tory conference yesterday this was a masterly exercise in understated urbanity. What I heard instead was a rambling and diffuse statement of aims, conspicuous only in its failure to communicate energy and ambition. Of course
An exhibition of self-portraits by members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters has opened at the Bulldog Trust, 2 Temple Place, London WC2, and runs until 10 October. The Trust, which was started in 1983, supports selected charities, such as Hampshire Hospices and the Prince’s Trust, and gives advice as well as money. Rolf
Martin Bright sheds light on what Brown’s inner circle are thinking about an early election in this week’s New Statesman. What stands out, though, is how thin-skinned they are. Danny Finkelstein’s story about the influence of Bob Shrum on his conference speech has clearly got under their skin. One aide tells Bright that, “The behaviour
ITV’s three-parter Torn came to an end last night. This drama by Chris Lang about an abducted child was one of the most gripping television plays I have seen for ages. Holly Aird, playing the child’s mother, was terrific, as were all the cast. More, please. Note to Radio Times: don’t give away the ending
There are two schools of thought on whether the chances of an early election have increased or receded since last week. On the one hand, the Tory conference was a success and Labour’s polling in its key marginals is “patchy and extremely tight”, according to The Independent; suggesting that Gordon Brown should hold off. On