Browsed by
Month: November 2018

Betting on Tuesday’s final midterms showdown – the Mississippi senatorial run-off

Betting on Tuesday’s final midterms showdown – the Mississippi senatorial run-off

Comments 0 Comment

The contest that’s evoking look backs to the Civil War It might be 3 weeks since the US midterm elections but there is a lot still to be settled. One of the interesting features from a British perspective is that some States seem to take an enormously long time to actually count the votes and not all the California seats in the house have been resolved yet. Meanwhile in the state of Mississippi with its long history of difficult race…

Read More Read More

Get ready for possibly the Xmas TV event of the year – May v Corbyn on the Brexit deal

Get ready for possibly the Xmas TV event of the year – May v Corbyn on the Brexit deal

Comments 0 Comment

Number 10 so confident of May’s knowledge of the withdrawal agreement that they are considering challenging a Corbyn to a debate on it ahead of the meaningful vote on the 12th of December https://t.co/lnkGQ03DIT — James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) November 24, 2018 Would Corbyn agree? According to ‘James Forsyth in the Sun: “May herself is confident about selling her deal. She knows the withdrawal agreement backwards. Her copy of it is marked up with reference tabs and she relishes mocking Corbyn…

Read More Read More

A second referendum is a dangerous distraction to the real action

A second referendum is a dangerous distraction to the real action

Comments 0 Comment

Brexit is not in trouble because of the lack of a mandate Brexit Day is now just 125 days away, or less than 18 weeks, if you prefer (and of those, you can discount Christmas). The extent of the discussion of a second referendum is therefore a measure of the desperation of both those who want to stop Brexit and those dissatisfied with how it’s going. That desperation is understandable. Brexit – in a legal sense – now looks a…

Read More Read More

The deal splits the Tories whilst a referendum would split LAB as well

The deal splits the Tories whilst a referendum would split LAB as well

Comments 0 Comment

One of the arguments that pro-second referendum Tory MPs are using at the moment is that the Brexit deal basically splits the Tories and Labour gets off scot free in spite of its equivocation and huge policy differences. So it is being said that if there was a referendum then it would split Labour as well. For Corbyn’s equivocation on Brexit and the referendum has really cost the party almost nothing so far and indeed the polling finds that those…

Read More Read More

This might be the moment for Rory Stewart – the old Etonian of whom great things were predicted even before he became an MP

This might be the moment for Rory Stewart – the old Etonian of whom great things were predicted even before he became an MP

Comments 0 Comment

He’s become TMay’s main Brexit defender Great things were predicted for Rory Stewart after his selection as CON candidate ahead of GE2010 for the safe seat of Penrith. He attracted an enormous amount of coverage and in December 2009 Ladbrokes made him the 12/1 fourth favourite to succeed Cameron as CON leader. To get a sense of the atmosphere at the time this was from a glowing profile from Anna van Praagh in the Sunday Telegraph in 2009. “Britain doesn’t…

Read More Read More

Corporeal on May and Corbyn’s approach to Brexit

Corporeal on May and Corbyn’s approach to Brexit

Comments 0 Comment

If you look at the front of forces on the march you tend to find one of three things. Leaders, figureheads, and cannon fodder, and British politics certainly hasn’t been suffering from an excess of leadership recently. Theresa May (still officially Prime Minister when I started writing this sentence) entered Downing Street after a leadership election which was more entertaining than inspiring and, having campaigned for Remain, took on the responsibility of delivering Brexit, whatever that means (two and a…

Read More Read More

Meanwhile the approval rating of the EU leadership by UK voters is at a record high

Meanwhile the approval rating of the EU leadership by UK voters is at a record high

Comments 0 Comment

A Gallup poll boost for remainers campaigning for a second Brexit referendum? Since it stopped carrying out voting surveys for the Telegraph after the 2001 general election Gallup has not really been a force in British political polling. This was the firm, of course, that really started the business and on which so much has been based. Well this week the US based, Gallup, has just published some UK Polling which is a useful addition given that Brexit totally dominating…

Read More Read More

Boris might need much more than Moggsy’s public backing if he’s to make it

Boris might need much more than Moggsy’s public backing if he’s to make it

Comments 0 Comment

Moggsy appears to be ruling himself out of the leadership and is set to back fellow Etonian BoJohttps://t.co/Snu75YfUiB — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) November 22, 2018 The main development in the Conservative leadership “contest” this morning has been an article by Moggsy in the hardline Brexit supporting Spectator ruling himself out of the leadership and giving support for the former Mayor and fellow Etonian, Mr Johnson. For a long period early in the year Rees-Mogg was favourite in the betting and…

Read More Read More