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Empire of Dirt

With the dust settled on the local elections, all eyes are fixed on this parliament’s next, final, electoral showdown: we are on the downward slope towards a General Election. How the outcome of the last poll affects each party’s planning for the next tells us something about what to expect from them over the next twelve months.

First, Labour. The locals have reassured the Labour Party that this government is as widely despised as opinion polling has implied. The Conservatives remain deeply unpopular and this translates into votes against them. A population that has woken up to the potential of tactical voting, as post-referendum Brits have, can very efficiently maximise hatred for a particular party or outcome. Where Labour was best placed to oust or stop Tories, voters voted for them. Where it was clearly others, others were backed.

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July 17th 2014

The Final Countdown

The deckchairs on Mr. Cameron’s Titanic were not so much rearranged as entirely re-upholstered this week, as he sought to put in place a top team fit for a general election. Many have described the...
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Not london calling
May 23rd 2014

Not London Calling

Why do people vote UKIP? That is going to be the take-home question from today’s local election results – and, indeed, from the Europeans which will be announced over the weekend. It is clear now...
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March 19th 2014

'The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover'

George Osborne’s Budget was his attempt to balance his fiscal conservatism against Robert Halfon’s call for the Tories to remodel themselves as ‘The Worker’s Party’. Working class leisure - from beer to bingo – was...
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March 1st 2014

Eastleigh Blues

Eastleigh is a political disaster for the Conservative Party and has plunged backbenchers (especially those in marginal seats) into despair. The fractious relationships at the top of both Coalition parties threaten both Clegg and Cameron...
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Apres Moi Le Deluge
February 14th 2014

Après moi, le deluge

With much of Southern Britain submerged, and a by-election in Wythenshawe and Sale East, February has brought a deluge of political news and provided a bumper start to the final full year of this Government...
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Fear and loathing
January 10th 2014

Fear and Loathing in 2014

2014 is the year when manifestos will start to be written and clear blue water established between the three main parties – policy asks and policy risks will both come to the fore for politically...
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