PMQs video
Thanks to the indispensable Politics Home, here’s footage of the Brown vs Cameron exchange in PMQs today. Expect Fraser’s write-up shortly.
Peter Hoskin
Wednesday
Darling’s tax con – now with added video!
For those who missed it, ITN have put together a short clip of Alistair Darling’s statement yesterday:
Are people seeing through Darling’s new clothes?
The biggest worry surrounding Darling’s 10p tax con is that people will fall for it; that it will be the vote-winner Brown so clearly wants it to be. There were immediate signs yesterday that this might be the case. I highlighted a Political Betting graph which showed that – in the betting markets, at least – Labour’s hopes of winning
Morning, Darling
There’s plenty of comment rattling around this morning on Darling’s 10p tax compensation. The Guardian calls it “crude, simple and costly”, whilst the Mirror strains to remind us, “The bottom line is that 22 million low and middle-income earners will be £120 better off this year.” The best take, though, is Peter Riddell’s in the
Tuesday
Darling boosts Labour’s Crewe hopes
Political Betting have put together a neat graph, showing the effect that Alistair Darling’s 10p compensation package has had on Labour chances in Crewe and Nantwich. As far as the betting markets are concerned, the move has boosted Labour hopes. Which is exactly what Brown & Darling wanted in the first place…
Darling announces 10p tax compensation
Alistair Darling’s just delivered a statment to the Commons, outlining measures to help those hit by the abolition of the 10p tax band. In short: the personal tax allowance will be increased by £600 to £6,035, and this will be paid for by increased borrowing. This is, says Darling, “the simplest and most effective” course
Women and politics poll
I’d recommend you take a look at Grazia magazine’s new poll – ‘Women and politics survey 2008’. As you’d expect – with a title like that – all the respondents are women, and they come out broadly in favour of Cameron & Co. For instance, 33 percent would vote Tory if there was a general
Gaffe Central
Is anything going right for this Government at the moment? The latest gaffe: Caroline Flint revealing the front page of an internal Cabinet memo on housing to waiting photographers. They dutifully snapped an image, and now we know the Government thinks house prices will drop by around 10 percent this year. As the Sun quite rightly points out, this could
A bleak outlook
Gloomy reading on the cover of the FT this morning – apparently, our economy’s heading ever more swiftly to stagnation and slowdown. New data reveals that confidence in the housing market has hit “rock bottom”; retail spending is dropping; and inflation is sky-rocketing. A dangerous, fiscal cocktail, indeed. Of course, it’s far from good news
Monday
Labour supporters think Brown should go
If you want an idea of the pessimism and despair among Labour supporters at the moment, do check out this running LabourHome poll. Its headline finding, so far? That some 49 percent of respondents think Brown should be sacked, as opposed to 34 percent who think he should stay on. 49 percent also believe that the 42-day detention plan should be dropped, and only
Offensive defence
And so – predictably – Ed Balls defends Brown against the allegations made by Frank Field yesterday. Or, rather, he sticks the boot into Field, hoping that amounts to the same thing. Here’s what he had to say: “I think people took [Field’s] views [about the 10p tax row] at face value. They thought that
Boris bids farewell to Henley
The new Mayor’s farewell letter to the constituents of Henley-on-Thames.
Another bad start to the week for Brown
It’s not a great start to the week for Gordon Brown, as he prepares for relaunch no.29. After the pummelling he received from John Prescott, Cherie Blair and Stephen Byers over the weekend, more (former) Blairites have entered the fray. Foremost among them is Lord Levy, who’s conducted a series of interviews to hawk his
Saturday
An unassuming genius
Pete Hoskin on the Hollywood actor James Stewart, who was born 100 years ago The great director and critic François Truffaut once labelled James Stewart as one of those rare actors who could be ‘moving and amusing within the same scene’. Quite so. On the one hand, Stewart — angular, lanky, and awkward in action
Friday
More bad news for Gordon…
…yet another data scandal.
America looks to Cameron
You know an Opposition leader’s doing well when he makes waves across the pond. And – if an important article in today’s New York Times is anything to go by – Cameron’s succeeding on exactly that front. It’s titled ‘The Conservative Revival’, and outlines what the GOP can learn from Project Cameron. Here’s a hefty assortment of the key points,
Will Ken work with Boris?
Ken discusses the lessons of May 1 in an article for the Guardian today. There’s not much there, beyond talk about how he performed better than Labour did nationally, and about how he had the best policies for London. In which case, the real point of interest may be at the end of the article.
Thursday
A 26 point lead for the Tories
The Sun have just released the results of a YouGov poll, and it gives the Tories an astonishing 26 point lead over Labour. The numbers in full: Tories, 49 percent; Labour, 23 percent; Lib Dems, 17 percent. That’s Labour’s worst poll showing since records began in the 1930s. There’s not really much to add –
The charm offensive continues
Oh dear. Another unnerving TV-appearance from Gordon Brown today – this time on ‘This Morning’ with Fern Britton (you can watch it here). As Britton says, it’s “an opportunity for [Brown] to be a human being”… The ITV morning chat-show may not be known for rigorous political interviewing, but Britton is surprisingly tenacious. When Brown’s talking about
Referendum-gate: the fallout
So, Wendy Alexander’s standing firm in the face of calls for her to quit. Not good, says Alan Cochrane in today’s Telegraph. His article is among the angriest you’ll read all year – a perfect kickstart to the day. Here are some highlights: “Wendy Alexander has landed Labour and Gordon Brown into one of the