Coffee House The Spectator Blog
Why Brown bottled it: Six point Tory lead in the marginals
Why did Gordon Brown call off the election? The News of the World, where I am a columnist, tells us tomorrow. It is the only newspaper to have polled in… Continue reading
14 CommentsNo November election
Gordon Brown has called off the election. He may appear on Andrew Marr tomorrow to tell us why. I am in a rather unusual position here – I can tell… Continue reading
1 CommentWill he go now?
As Gordon Brown prepares for tomorrow’s crunch meeting on whether or not to call an election the case against going early is getting stronger. A poll for the Daily Politics… Continue reading
2 CommentsMore grim poll news for Brown
Gordon’s decision just got trickier. The latest figures from The Guardian / ICM poll show that 48% of voters want a November poll compared to 43% who don’t. However, 58%… Continue reading
7 CommentsA week is a long time in politics
Rarely has that old cliché seemed so true. On Saturday, Anthony King wrote that “Mr Cameron looks increasingly like a rich man’s Iain Duncan Smith” and with the Tories behind… Continue reading
3 CommentsGordon and Maggie, together at last
If there is a snap election, I suspect the resurgent Scottish National Party’s television campaign will look something like this…
0 CommentsGordon and Maggie, together at last
If there is a snap election, I suspect the resurgent Scottish National Party’s television campaign will look something like this…
0 CommentsThe tide is turning
Ben Brogan’s blog makes available to the punter the kind of lobby corridor gossip which I’d have given my right arm to be privy to when I was a press… Continue reading
6 CommentsBrown’s number cruncher
This morning the chances of an early election have receded considerably but it is not over yet. Gordon Brown receives internal polling today and tomorrow and if these numbers look… Continue reading
2 CommentsTories bounce level
This morning’s polls will be causing consternation in Downing Street. ICM in The Guardian finds the two parties level on 38 points and Populus for The Times has Labour ahead… Continue reading
8 CommentsLabour’s lead drops by 7 points, what will Brown do now?
It’s 7pm and the Channel 4/YouGov poll is out: Lab40, Tory36, LibDem13. Now, 40% isn’t bad for Labour – but a lead that’s shrunk from 11 points to 4 emphasises… Continue reading
5 CommentsTories bounce
I’m hearing unconfirmed reports that the Channel Four/YouGov poll has Labour’s lead reduced to four points. The last YouGov poll (for the Telegraph) had a Labour lead of 11 points.… Continue reading
1 CommentTaxing the hand that feeds
The Tories have issued a document defending their plan to pay for the £3.5bn cost of their inheritance tax cut by taxing non dom. Still, the only source they can… Continue reading
5 CommentsEvil’s inspiration
I’m certainly not suggesting that any of the political parties follow this particular source of inspiration but if you want to see, terrifyingly clearly, exactly where Hitler got a great… Continue reading
0 CommentsAn award winning life
A huge screen behind the stage at the Dorchester Hotel yesterday showed Montserrat Caballé singing for a hot-dog in a café. Sadly, she wasn’t there in person to collect the… Continue reading
1 CommentThe lazy party
I must have been watching some other conference. Judging by the general view taken of David Cameron’s speech to the Tory conference yesterday this was a masterly exercise in understated… Continue reading
13 CommentsA portrait of the artist
An exhibition of self-portraits by members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters has opened at the Bulldog Trust, 2 Temple Place, London WC2, and runs until 10 October. The… Continue reading
0 CommentsBrown rage
Martin Bright sheds light on what Brown’s inner circle are thinking about an early election in this week’s New Statesman. What stands out, though, is how thin-skinned they are. Danny… Continue reading
5 CommentsTorn about the ending
ITV’s three-parter Torn came to an end last night. This drama by Chris Lang about an abducted child was one of the most gripping television plays I have seen for… Continue reading
1 CommentWill Gordon go?
There are two schools of thought on whether the chances of an early election have increased or receded since last week. On the one hand, the Tory conference was a… Continue reading
5 Comments