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Douglas Alexander fails to back Gordon Brown.
2008-05-11 11:01:00
Is it just me, or did Douglas Alexander fail to back Gordon Brown on the Andrew Marr show this morning? Andrew asked him if it was all over for Gordon if Labour were to lose the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. The first words out of Douglas's mouth should have been "No absolutely not". However he didn't say anything of the sort and failed to give Brown his backing. I think Andrew Marr may regret not asking the question twice when he realises what happened.I'll post a link to the show when it is available. OK here it is (55min 45secs into the show).
More About: Back , Gordon Brown

PoliticsHome PHI5000 daily online public opinion tracker launches today.
2008-05-11 10:07:00
Press Release from PoliticsHome:Today we publish the first results from the PHI5000 panel, a politically balanced group of 5000 regular voters across the UK, who answer a survey every day for the new website PoliticsHome.com. The tracker is powered by YouGov.Regular findings from this pioneering new method of public opinion research ? a variation on a giant online focus group ? will be published from today on PoliticsHome.com.Because the sample remains constant, and due to the daily tracker questions that are asked on a rotation system, subtle and immediate changes in public opinion will be able to be observed for the first time, without the margin of error of normal polls."Every day we track a whole range of political questions, parts of which we will release over the coming weeks," says Freddie Sayers, Managing Editor of PoliticsHome. "For the first time, we can say for sure that when a rating changes, real people have definitely changed their mind."Visit PoliticsHome.com for more...
More About: Daily , Public , Opinion , Blogging

Another Sour Sunday for Gordon Brown.
2008-05-11 08:59:00
The first thing Gordon Brown will think when he wakes up this morning will be: "today can't be as bad as last Sunday ". He will be wrong, today will be one hell of a sour Sunday. First of all he will read about John Prescott claiming that he urged Tony Blair to sack him. Then he will read about the ICM survey for the Mail on Sunday which puts the Tories on 43%, Labour on 39% and the Liberal Democrats on 16% in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. If he can find the will to read on he will discover that when Labour voters were asked who would make the best Prime Minister, 41% said Cameron and only 38% backed Brown. OMG - when your own supporters prefer the opposition's leadership to yours, you should surely start to seriously consider a career change.Believe it or not, it gets worse. According to Louise Bagshawe post on ConservativeHomes CentreRight section, Frank Field has threatened Brown with "no confidence" over 10p tax. And she thinks he is deadly serious. This came up on Any Qu...
More About: Gordon Brown

Labour still have Abrahams £630,000 Donorgate cash.
2008-05-11 07:38:00
It's six months since Labour 's dodgy donations from David Abrahams (via third parties) came to light. At the time of "donor gate", Gordon Brown promised that the money would be returned. According to the Daily Mail - It hasn't. The money is sitting in a non-interest making (escrow) account five months after Scotland Yard told the Labour party that: "the donated money was no longer an issue for the police".Tory frontbencher Chris Grayling said:"This was clearly another attempt by Labour to bury bad news. "It is extraordinary that Gordon Brown could make such a clear promise about repaying the money and then do nothing while quietly hoping no one noticed. He just keeps on treating the British people as fools."A Labour Party spokesman said:"The investigation has not been concluded and the Electoral Commission has not made a judgment. The escrow account holder will take instruction from the police, the courts or the Electoral Commission to determine the rightful ownership of the fund...
More About: Cash

The EU - Help or hindrance for our farmers?
2008-05-10 17:10:00
From the Scotsman:The EU still takes more than two years on average to license a perfectly safe GM product. In the US, the average approval time is 15 months. Now the EU is once again in the news for delaying its approval of GM foods ? two maize crops and a potato with extra starch ? by passing the decision on to the European Food Safety Authority, causing consternation amongst those waiting for their authorisation.As consumers, we do not feel the impact of such time delays. But farmers, who are falling further behind in the world market as they are forced to feed their animals more expensive non-GM foods, are feeling this delay dearly. Scottish farmers are losing on average £20 for every pig slaughtered because of rising fuel costs and lack of access to cheap feed. There is a real danger that we will soon have no UK pig industry left. In the ten years from 1996 to 2006 the UK pig herd has fallen from 7.9 to 4.9 million. On the other hand, farmers across the world are feeding their ...
More About: Referendum , Farmers

Are early-day motions a waste of time and money?
2008-05-10 10:51:00
From Hansard written answers:Mr. Holloway: To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Early Day Motions procedure.Helen Goodman: The Government?s assessment of the procedures governing Early Day Motions were set out in its July 2007 response to the Procedure Committee?s Report on ?Public Petitions and Early Day Motions?.The Government agreed with the conclusions of the Committee that?while there are some concerns about the number of EDMs?restricting the rules of eligibility for EDMs by reference to subject matter or by imposing a ration for each Member would not be appropriate.I've seen some truly pathetic EDMs, what do you think?
More About: Money , Time , Waste

Boris Johnson agrees partnership with Mayor Bloomberg.
2008-05-09 14:03:00
Could the partnership deal that Boris has entered into with his New York counterpart Michael Bloomberg be the beginning of a new, bright future for London? Bloomberg's record as the man who gets it right in New York is well known. Any advice Boris takes from his new American partner will no doubt benefit the residents of London.Boris has definitely hit the ground running.
More About: Johnson , Mayor

The Mirror - Brian Reade, how desperate can you get?
2008-05-09 13:09:00
I've just read the most biased, pathetic, class envying, scaremongering piece of drivel of an article written by a journalist desperate to stop Labour entering its death throes.If you want to see how bad things are for Labour, click HERE to see how desperate Brian Reade is getting and how low he will stoop.
More About: Mirror , Desperate

26 point lead - Cameron must be given the credit.
2008-05-09 12:05:00
The Sun's poll carried out by YouGov, which indicated that Labour have not been as unpopular since the 1930s, is the result of the actions of two men - Gordon Brown and David Cameron . Without doubt Brown's dithering, poor choice of policy and general incompetence has caused Labour to lose a great amount of support. But, that lost support has not been to the advantage of the Lib Dems. Ever since the highly successful Conservative party conference last year, David Cameron has led his party to historic popularity. There are certain members of the media who have said that the Tories recent success is more down to Gordon's ineptitude rather than Cameron's leadership. Well I say - what a load of rubbish.The policies that Cameron and his shadow cabinet laid out at the Tory conference were stolen by Brown, everyone knew it. They knew the we were the party with the ideas and Labour were reduced to stealing them. Brown is trying to use the all mouth and no trousers approach to Cameron, bu...
More About: Credit

Lisbon Treaty referendum poll. Gordon Brown.
2008-05-08 22:50:00
With all the other trouble Gordon Brown is having at the moment, the Lisbon Treaty is not getting much coverage. A referendum should be our number one priority - anything that Gordon Brown has done will fade into insignificance when compared to what an all powerful EU will do. Is Gordon Brown refusing to allow a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty because:A) The Lisbon Treaty does not constitute a constitutional change.B) We will vote NO.C) Manifesto promises mean nothing to the listening Prime Minister.D) Ratifying the Lisbon Treaty will give even more power to Europe's political elite.E) He thinks that we the little people are too thick to understand the Treaty.F) He dreams of a socialist Super-State.G) B,C,D,E and F pollcode.com free polls
More About: Poll

Conservatives have a 26 point lead in Sun Poll.
2008-05-08 20:49:00
YouGov Poll : The picture says it all. What now for Gordon Brown?From The Sun:LABOUR has slumped to its lowest point since records began in the 1930s, a devastating Sun poll reveals tonight. And the Tories are enjoying their second biggest poll lead in history.Full story HERE.
More About: Conservative , Conservatives , Labour , Polls

Jacqui Smith - What planet are you living on?
2008-05-08 12:26:00
You know, if I didn't know better, I would applaud Jacqui Smith 's speech in Westminster today. However I do know better. She claims that the number of ASBOs issued has come down. There is a good reason for this - To get an ASBO you generally have to have been nicked several times for antisocial offences. However seeing as the government introduced "Fixed penalty notices" (£80 fine), you don't often get nicked for being antisocial. 32,000 notices were handed out last year, which is a massive increase on previous years:Alan Gordon, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says: "Let?s look at the reality of fixed penalty notices. Currently a third go unpaid and those who receive them get no criminal conviction. The Sentencing Advisory Panel suggestion that shoplifters (for example) could avoid jail no matter how many times they commit the offence is a disgrace. It sends out the wrong message at a time when the police and the public alike are sick to death of a c...
More About: Living , Planet , Jacqui Smith

Jack Straw - Are the government rigging prison strikes?
2008-05-08 09:23:00
I would not want be in Jack Straw shoes this morning as he faces the POA (Prison Officers' Association) at their annual conference. Not only are they angry over this year's 2.2% pay deal - they are also worried that the government are trying to induce industrial action. That sounds a little strange doesn't it? - Why would the government want Prison Officers to strike? Well the POA believe that a recent dispute at HMP Lindholme involving the suspension of some of their staff, could have been engineered to validate the reintroduction of anti-trade union legislation. The following is taken from a POA press release:The leaders of the POA are concerned that the Government , Ministry of Justice and Prison Service have engineered this dispute [HMP Lindholme] in an attempt to justify the reintroduction of Section 127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 through the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill along with and the recent amendment which was placed before the House of L...
More About: Jack Straw

The Eighty Sixth Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes!
2008-05-07 18:08:00
Got some time to kill but don't know where to go?Why don't you climb aboard the Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus. There are still a few places left.Click on STOP 1 and the Bus will take you to your first Mystery Blog location. To get back on the Bus just click the Back Button and click STOP 2 to continue the Tour. I think you can work the rest out.The Bus rolls out on Sundays and Wednesdays - enjoy the ride. 12 34 5
More About: Blogging , Minutes

Another Labour MP blames Brown for 10p tax damage.
2008-05-07 15:19:00
The Labour MP for Bolton South-east Dr Brian Iddon blames Brown for 10p tax damage.From the Bolton News:"Gordon Brown's been dithering on the 10p tax rate and I think he's given the public the general view now that he's indecisive. However he did go on to defend Brown, Brian Said: "The Prime Minister realises his errors and has told the Parliamentary Labour Party that he's going to improve. "We've only had him in just under a year. And the policies overall are right - 55 per cent of British people benefited from the budget."But surely Brian, that means 45% are worse off?
More About: Damage

Only 11% support Gordon Brown - No Confidence?
2008-05-07 11:22:00
So 55% of Labour voters want to see Brown step down as Prime Minister. If you take into account that polls are estimating Labour's support in the high twenties and last weeks? local elections gave Labour only 24% of the popular vote ? it?s all bad news for Brown. If only 24% of the public would vote for Labour and only 45% of those believe Brown should continue in his job, then that indicates that less than 11% of the voting population want Gordon Brown to lead this country. Surely Gordon should be getting the message by now?Is having the confidence of less than 11% of voters a poor enough endorsement of his leadership to call for a vote of no confidence? I think it is. I wonder what David Cameron is thinking?
More About: Support , Polls

CCTV fiasco - Billions of pounds down the pan.
2008-05-06 14:40:00
This what Det Ch Insp Mike Neville said about the CCTV system:"Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be used in court. It's been an utter fiasco: only 3% of crimes were solved by CCTV. "There's no fear of CCTV. Why don't people fear it? [They think] the cameras are not working."Some may argue that three per cent is better than nothing. I say: how many police officers would those billions have payed for? Typical Labour - throw money at it without any idea if it will work or not.
More About: Crime , Police , Fiasco

David Cameron goes after Gordon Brown on 10p tax.
2008-05-06 13:33:00
At his monthly press conference David Cameron made it clear he was going after Gordon Brown on the 10p tax fiasco. With the Crewe & Nantwich seat up for grabs on the 22nd May he told the assembled press that overturning Labour's 7000 majority was the party's "top campaigning priority":Obviously it's going to be a tall order but we will give it our best shot. We have a strong local candidate and a real focus from the entire organisation.We've made a strong start, first out of the blocks, our message being delivered right across the constituency.Our message will focus in particular on the 10p tax rate and how Gordon Brown is hurting the people of Crewe with tax increases just as their cost of living is going up.David also talk about how he and Boris were to meet with Mayor Bloomberg of New York this week. The meeting will focus on education and Mayor Bloomberg's strong record in turning around failing schools in New York City. In a dig clearly aimed at Gordon Brown's ditheri...

The Irish Rebel against the Lisbon Treaty - Song.
2008-05-05 22:05:00
Hat Tip to The Final Redoubt and The Eurealist.God I hope the Irish can do it for us. I promise to raise the Irish flag once a year in respect if they vote down this attack on democracy.If you have an hour or so to spare, Click HERE to watch a video that will show the the truth about the Lisbon Treaty.
More About: Ireland , Song , Rebel

Gordon Brown to scrap "pay-as-you-throw" bin tax plan.
2008-05-05 12:47:00
So Gordon Brown is planning to scrap his plans for a "pay-as-you-throw" bin tax. Well pump bloody pump. He knew this was highly unpopular with the people of this Fair land, but did he give a monkey's before he and his party got handed their arses last Thursday? NO he bloody well did not. This is a U Turn to save his neck. If Labour had done well in the local elections would he be scrapping this tax? Not a chance.Anyhow, when Brown and his bunch of numpties were peddling this unfair tax they assured us that we wouldn't be out of pocket - in fact they told us we could actually be better off if we recycled more. So which is it? Is Brown doing us a favour by scrapping his plans for this tax, or is he stopping us saving money on our council tax bills. What about recycling - is that not a priority now that his job is looking dodgy? I'm confused.What a load of pony. Mavis "Ooh I don't really know" Brown will have to do a lot better than that.
More About: Scrap , Gordon Brown , Throw

The Eighty Fifth Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes!
2008-05-04 21:31:00
Got some time to kill but don't know where to go?Why don't you climb aboard the Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus. There are still a few places left.Click on STOP 1 and the Bus will take you to your first Mystery Blog location. To get back on the Bus just click the Back Button and click STOP 2 to continue the Tour. I think you can work the rest out.The Bus rolls out on Sundays and Wednesdays - enjoy the ride. 12 34 5
More About: Blogging , Minutes

Iain Dale hosts a Live Chat on Gordon's Black Sunday
2008-05-04 18:57:00
Iain Dale is hosting a Live Chat on Gordon's Black Sunday . Click HERE to Join in the fun.UPDATE: It's finished.
More About: Labour

Gordon Brown 6/5 to be out by Next General Election.
2008-05-04 15:25:00
Press release from William Hill:William Hill are now just 6/5 that Gordon Brown will not be the Labour leader at the start of the next General Election and offer 8/13 that he is leader. "The news just gets worse for Gordon Brown . When he took over we were 20/1 that he would not lead Labour into the next Election, a price that has plummeted all the way to 6/5. David Miliband is the favourite to take over from Gordon but there is a fair amount of smart money that Jack Straw will be the next leader on the assumption that Labour will struggle the next time they go to the country," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.G Brown To Be Labour Leader At The Next Election: 8/13 Yes, 6/5 NoNext General Election : 4/9 Conservatives, 13/8 LabourWILLIAM HILL: NEXT LABOUR LEADER ODDS:2/1 D MILIBAND, 5/1 E BALLS, 7/1 A JOHNSON, 10/1 J PURNELL, 10/1 J STRAW, 14/1 A BURNHAM, 14/1 J DENHAM, 16/1 D ALEXANDER, 16/1 E MILIBAND, 16/1 H BENN, 16/1 Y COOPER, 20/1 H HARMAN, 25/1 C FLINT, 25/1 D BROWNE, 25/1 R K...

A big moment for the Daily Referendum
2008-05-04 14:52:00
I'm one happy Blogger :)
More About: Daily , Blogging , Moment , Referendum

Gordon Brown - He's a slick salesman.
2008-05-04 12:47:00
Gordon Brown showed who the real slick salesman is in British politics today. How he arranged for SKY TV to cut off his interview mid stream to go to a double glazing advert is beyond me. Is this some new ploy to pay off the Labour party's debts? Or his he going to use the double glazing sponsorship money to help out those he robbed in the 10p tax grab?On a serious note: Does this show the contempt now held for our Prime Minister?
More About: Gordon Brown , Gordon , Salesman

Gordon Brown interviews - Andrew Marr and Adam Boulton
2008-05-04 11:31:00
This morning Gordon "Mavis" Brown is trying to repair the massive damage he has done to the Labour party. He is facing a "stalking horse" and a Cabinet plot to get rid of him. He's been on the Andrew Marr show (33mins in) already and to be honest Andrew actually stuck it to him for a change. I had to laugh when Gordon said "I feel your pain". He had the cheek to make out that he had it rough during his childhood - what a bare faced lie - the man is from a wealthy family and wouldn't know rough if it punched him in the nose in a Taxi rank. Andrew asked him what new policies he had or which ones he would change to make life better for voters. Gordon had nothing. Nothing but waffle about how great he has been and that he was the right man to lead the country. I think the people have quite clearly stated that they don't share his high opinion of himself.Brown is now on SKY being interviewed by Adam Boulton and if anything Adam is giving him a harder time than Andrew Marr did. If I he...
More About: Interviews , Gordon Brown

Labour MP John McDonnell in 'stalking horse' leadership challenge.
2008-05-04 09:16:00
Just as Gordon Brown is preparing sweet talk the news channels this morning, the Daily Mail has more bad news for him. Last night Labour MP Graham Stringer said that Cabinet ministers are privately plotting to replace Gordon Brown, this morning the Mail is reporting that Labour MP John McDonnell is telling friends that he is ready to mount a 'stalking horse' leadership challenge. I hope that when Brown is interviewed this morning he is asked about this unrest amongst his own party. Will anyone fall for Brown's faux assurances and creepy smile this morning? I should hope not.
More About: Leadership , Challenge

The Cabinet is plotting against Gordon Brown.
2008-05-04 01:45:00
From the Scotsman:CABINET ministers are privately plotting to replace Gordon Brown as Labour leader, according to a senior Labour MP who has slammed the troubled Premier as a "moody, disloyal personality"Labour MP Graham Stringer, a former Cabinet Office minister, told Scotland on Sunday that his senior parliamentary colleagues were preparing the ground for a new leader amid growing panic that Labour is facing certain defeat following the disastrous May Day local elections last week."Conversations between Cabinet ministers and backbenchers are going on in private," he said."If anyone thinks that MPs are not obsessed with talking about whether Gordon should be leader they are sadly mistaken. They are talking about nothing else."Interesting.Full Story HERE.
More About: Gordon Brown

Plymouth Labour leader blames Gordon Brown.
2008-05-03 19:33:00
Plymouth City Labour leader Tudor Evans has blamed his party's defeat on Government policies. Labour lost six seats to the Conservatives. He said the public no longer believed Gordon Brown was on their side, saying:"I think he needs to make sure that people think he cares about them as much as he does about the captains of industry and the banks and the movers and shakers".
More About: Gordon Brown , Plymouth

David Cameron - Boris wins video - London Mayor.
2008-05-03 16:59:00
Here is a video showing David Cameron celebrating Boris Johnson's London Mayor Election win. Here is a top tip for team Cameron: get David on the TV more often in these behind the scenes moments. The more I see him, the more I'm sure about the party's future.Magic our Boris!
More About: Video