Monday, June 08, 2009
Angela Smith becomes Minister of State
Sunday, June 07, 2009
General election prediction - Conservative 98 seat majority
During the expenses scandal in May, both major parties have lost support, though the Conservatives have slightly increased their lead over Labour. Populus (Times) has 20% (up from 13%), ICM (Sunday Telegraph) has 18% (up from 10%), Ipsos-MORI has 22% (up from 13%), but ComRes (Independent) has 8% (down from 19%), and YouGov (Daily Telegraph) has 16% (down from 18%).
Overall, the Conservative lead is 16%, which is 1% higher than last month. The current prediction is that the Conservatives will have a majority of 98 seats, winning 374 seats (+1 seat since 2 May 2009).
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Labour members lose confidence in Brown
So they want him to go 47% to 46%. At least some sections of the Labour party have retained a degree of judgement.
How long do you think Gordon should stay as Labour leader? He should step down immediately 21 He should stay for the time being but step down before the next general election 26 He should lead Labour into the next general election 46 Don’t know 7
Basildon District - Essex County Council election results detail
Party Name | Seats Elected | % of votes |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 9 | 44% |
Labour | 0 | 16% |
Liberal Democrat | 0 | 14% |
British National Party | 0 | 14% |
UK Independence Party | 0 | 11% |
English Democrats | 0 | 1% |
Turnout: | | 33% |
Friday, June 05, 2009
Conservative victory in Basildon District
All of the results are here.
By the way, the last time that we took every seat in Basildon District was in 1992, the same year that the old Basildon seat's Conservative victory heralded John Major's victory. If you want a historical parallel that is.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
James Purnell's letter
We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for twenty years and you for far longer. We know we owe it everything and it owes us nothing.
I owe it to our Party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely.
That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy. It calls for a Government that measures itself by how it treats the poorest in society. Those are our values, not David Cameron's.
We therefore owe it to our country to give it a real choice. We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible Government and have the courage to offer an alternative future.
I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our Party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from Government.
The Party was here long before us, and we want it to be here long after we have gone. We must do the right thing by it.
I am not seeking the leadership, nor acting with anyone else. My actions are my own considered view, nothing more. If the consensus is that you should continue, then I will support the government loyally from the backbenches. But I do believe that this question now needs to be put.
Thank you for giving me the privilege of serving.
Yours,
Rt Hon James Purnell MP
I cannot disagree with his analysis as far as it goes. It would have been better if he had mentioned something about the economic crisis that so many of our people are grappling with or the increasingly bloody war in Afghanistan, because those are the real problems. A bad Prime Minister is serious enough, but at this time the impact on our country is magnified many times. That it also damages the Labour party is neither here nor there.
What we need is Gordon Brown gone, and an election.
Voting so far
Vote Conservative
For the European elections a vote for the Conservatives is a vote to impede the Federalists in the European parliament and to strengthen the case for a British referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. That referendum was promised by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who reneged as soon as it seemed opportune. A Conservative government would either have a referendum, or if the treaty had been fully ratified find another way to get us out of it. Labour and the Liberal Democrats think that turning the EU into a de facto state is a marvellous idea, but they don't want you to have a say on the matter. As for the various other contenders, they don't have a coherent platform, just a hope that they can hoover up enough protest votes. Worst of the lot is UKIP, who used their platform from the last European elections to achieve precisely nothing, while two of their MEPs were removed for corruption. Then you have the BNP, who want a fascist revolution but have discovered that wearing suits is better than going around in paramilitary uniforms and shouting. European elections certainly bring out a diversity of political opinion, but that doesn't mean that the elections are unimportant. An MEP is for four years, not just for an election day protest.
For the County elections, we currently have an excellent Essex County Council administration under the very able leadership of Lord Hanningfield. He has given us a low Council Tax, efficient services, and innovative ideas to help our people through the recession. I am constantly struck by the ability and professionalism of the County officers I deal with and this cannot but be a reflection of the political leadership of the County. For this election we would be best served by an increased Conservative majority at County Hall, particularly at the expense of the Labour Party. Here in Basildon District we are cursed with Labour do-nothing County Councillors who are not adept at working for their Divisions. Consequently, these can lose out to areas where the County Councillor is harder working. I hope that we can remove some of those chair-warmers today.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Timetable for Gordon Brown's demise
It goes like this:
4 June: Local and European election polling day.
5 June: Results from local elections; pressure mounts on Brown.
7 June: European election results expose the full scale of the electoral defeat suffered by Brown.
9 June: The prime minister is forced from office.
10 June: Labour's ruling national executive committee would meet and a new timetable would be announced.
The rebels have told the Guardian they think, and some senior trade union officials have even suggested to them, that the trade union involvement could be cut out altogether.
The advice of the three officials has assured the rebels that their shortened schedule would be "waterproofed" against legal challenge by the prime minister.
11 June: The parliamentary Labour party would meet and nominate their chosen new leader on the Thursday
12 June: Nominations for leader close.
16 June: Leadership ballot papers are distributed.
29 June: Selection of the new leader at a special conference held by the Labour party
2 July: Brown would formally resign and the new prime minister would be installed.
8 July: First prime minister's questions for the new leader
21 July Parliament breaks for the summer recess.