When Brown first became Prime Minister there was a great expectation that he would announce bold new policies. He had schemed so long to get the keys to 10 Downing Street, the assumption was he had a big plan. The policies never came. The 2010 Labour manifesto is also pretty threadbare, and somewhat left-leaning, if […]
That's according to today's Sunday Telegraph, which reports that the Business Secretary "will be the party's chief election strategist as well as chairing "the majority" of Labour's news conferences". International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander remains Labour;s election co-ordinator, whatever that entails, assisted by Business minister and former Blair aide Pat McFadden. In what the paper […]
The Guardian reveals the winner of the competition Labour HQ ran to design an anti-Tory poster… The Guardian writes: "It depicts David Cameron as Gene Hunt, the politically incorrect star of Ashes to Ashes, the BBC TV series set in the early years of the Thatcher era. He is pictured above the words: "Don't let […]
Remember how Labour lost Blaenau Gwent, one of its safest seats in the country, at the last general election after a revolt by activists and locals opposed to a favoured candidate being foisted on the constituency by Labour HQ through an all-women shortlist? A Labour majority of over 19,000 was overturned and Peter Law, formerly […]
The Mirror this morning reports that Gordon Brown's predecessor and former arch-rival, Tony Blair, will tomorrow make the first of several appearances of the election campaign. It will be a speech from the safety of his old constituency in County Durham. The paper reports: "Tony Blair's dramatic re-emergence on the political centre stage will destroy […]
Yesterday Gordon Brown launched his five election pledges. CCHQ hit back with a rebuttal document which I summarise below. The Labour pledge: "Secure the recovery." The Conservative response: "The man who believed he had ended the economic cycle but gave us the biggest boom followed by the biggest bust cannot be trusted to secure the […]
The Guardian has an interview with Gordon Brown this morning. We learn that he will keep Darling as Chancellor if he wins the election. Sensible given yesterday's ComRes finding that the Brown/Darling team enjoys a modest lead over Cameron/Osborne when it comes to running the economy… although as we reveal on today's front page an […]
Less than a fortnight after it was trumpeted that Labour would replace the House of Lords with a 300-member elected Senate, and the proposals appear to have fallen foul of Lord Mandelson's opposition. The Guardian today reports: "Jack Straw's detailed blueprint for a 300- strong, wholly elected upper chamber to replace the Lords appears to […]
The ASA has banned two press adverts that used nursery rhymes to scare people about the effects of climate change. Click on the poster on the right to enlarge one of the two offending examples. The adverts issued by Ed Miliband's Department of Energy and Climate Change were found to have exaggerated the likelihood of […]
The Times reports on the five pledges that Labour hopes to put at the heart of its re-election bid: On the economy… Labour will promise to cut the deficit in half in four years. On jobs… Labour will offer training or work to any young person unemployed for more than two years. On education… Labour […]
The video is part of a Unison campaign website. With unions providing more than 60% of Labour funding they are also running GOTV ops in marginal seats and now campaigns like this. You can be sure that Unison’s message is meant to chime with Gordon Brown’s attempt to dishonestly portray the election as Labour spending […]
Tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph splashes on the news that Justice Secretary Jack Straw is about to announce plans to replace the House of Lords with a 300-member fully elected second chamber. The paper reports: "Ministers are ready to announce their plans, which follow years of fruitless cross-party discussions and several votes in the House of Commons, […]
The Telegraph today splashes on news that Liam Byrne, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has ruled out further tax increases, including VAT, in the event of a Labour Government being re-elected (although it has already announced the 50% tax rate on income over £150.000 and the 0.5% rise in National Insurance). It reports: In […]
This from Ian Kirby, the News of the World's Political Editor (my emphasis): "A highly confidential operation being run by Britain’s biggest trade union, Unite, is far bigger than the Tories’ own £3m marginal seats campaign. The union is using it’s own massive datatbase of members in a bid to persuade dithering former Labour voters […]
Leo McKinstry in the Express: "The destruction of our borders through uncontrolled immigration, the vast expansion of the welfare state and the phenomenal growth in state bureaucracy have helped to create three huge blocs of client voters who will overwhelmingly back Labour out of naked self-interest. Only last week it was revealed that the Government […]