Con 40%, Labour 27%, LibDems 18%.
Very good.
Cameron’s Conservatives take a 13% lead
November 26, 2007
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Posted by antonylittle
Defectors are as welcome as always!
November 26, 2007The news that a LibDem MEP for the North-West of England, and also a Labour Suffolk County Councillor, have both today defected to David Cameron’s Conservatives should be very welcome for the party. It gives Cameron a real roll, as the government decend into choas and the polls shift in the Tory favour it demonstrates that Cam has the big mo’.
However, regular readers will note my general dislike of defectors. I just don’t think you can trust people who one day are slagging off a certain party and campaigning to oust them from politics and are happily handing over their membership cheque the next. Sometimes they look desperate (like former Tory MP Quentin Davies) and sometimes they look careerist (such as the now Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, who was once Tory MP for Witney). The first defection I can really remember was Emma Nicholson, a Devon MP who quit the Tories for the LibDems. I went on to read her auto-biography and was totally unconvinced. She’s certainly gone further under the LibDems (now a Baroness) than she would have under the Tories (she may just have risen back to rank of Branch Treasurer by now).
So whilst I say welcome to these two gentleman, I think both have a lot to prove … a lot of leaflets that need delivering and a lot of doors need knocking on. But, for now, let’s just enjoy the moment!
Labour’s General Secretary Resigns
November 26, 2007This started as one of those stories that was very very simple. A rich but slightly controversial businessman wants to give shedloads of cash to Labour and uses friends and employees to do so without being named personally. Labour’s General Secretary – the most important paid official in the party – knew of this very dodgy and illegal practice. He resigned. Simple? Well, no…
Now it is claimed that these friends-of-Ambrahams have also donated to the funds of cabinet ministers including Deputy Leader of the Party, Harriet Harman, who is also married to the Labour Patry Treasurer. Now it also seems the the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, may also have benefitted. Yet nobody within either camp bothered to check who these donors were because, if they did, they would discover that such people were unlikely to be able to donate such four figure sums.
And to make it worse, poor Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who is becoming Gordon Brown’s lightening-rod-in-Chief) went on Channel 4 to say that no cabinet minister knew of this.
Oh dear…
Full Council – Tuesday Night
November 26, 2007Agenda for tomorrow’s meeting:
(Normal Gumpf, followed by…0
4. Questions from the Public
5. Petitions
6. Minutes
7. Questions to the Executive
8. Boundary Review
9. Appointment of an Honourary Recorder
10. Motion on Congestion Charging, proposed by Cllr Lubbock (LibDem, Eaton) in which she lists the many criteria that, after which, we should back the CC.
11. Motion on Growing Obesity Crisis, proposed by Cllr Watkins (LibDem, Eaton) one of the most consistent advocates of sport on the council arguing that 2009 should be a year of sport in the City.
12. Motion on HMOs, proposed by Cllr Bremner (Lab, University) about introducing new planning laws for HMOs (or student houses to you and me).
Enjoyable!
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Posted by antonylittle
Very brave, Mr Beazily
November 25, 2007I have just watched the BBC Politics Show during which our local MEP Christopher Beazily ruled out a vote on the EU Constitution saying that the issue hadn’t been explained and that we should trust parliamentary procedure.
Nothing about Gordon Brown’s promise at the 2005 election which he subsequently broke. Nothing about the convention that major constitutional changes must be ratified by a referendum.
Blair could have forced through devolution in 1997 but he chose to put it to the vote because it was a constitutional issue, despite having a massive parliamentary majority. Ditto in Northern Ireland, London and even the North East of England. Yet Europe is a no-no.
Mr Beazily is, in case you’ve never heard of him, a Conservative MEP who will face re-selection in the next few months. Airing such views, so alien to Conservative Party members, so close to his re-selection? In the words of Sir Humphrey … “very brave” …
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Posted by antonylittle
The non-issue?
November 25, 2007Yesterday morning I was out in Eaton with local candidate Niall Baxter to help knock on doors. Interestingly the unitary issue was way down the list of concerns – it was beaten by the state of the roads, council tax levels, AWC, the fate of the ex-England manager and the driving test not being tough enough.
In fact the only person who mentioned it without prompting was a LibDem voter is massively opposed to the plans – and, yes, she will be switching to the Tories next year.
Not a single person in favour of Unitary, just one person against. Why isn’t this more of an issue? Or is it just us and the EDP that care?
Lessons to be learnt from Alysham
November 25, 2007The Conservatives did not have a great result in the Alysham by-election on Thursday. Parents Evening at school prevented me from getting there but it is clear that we ought to look long and hard at why this has happened.
There will be those who seek to claim that this puts the new Broadland constituency candidate Keith Simpson under pressure (and, in part, it should do) but we ought to remember that in “normal circumstances” the results across Norfolk were good for the party only last May.
The Liberal Democrats were all-but wiped out in South Norfolk, they lost another seat in Norwich and went down (again) in Broadland. Meanwhile, the Conservatives had total domination in Breckland and also in West Norfolk. We also picked up seats in North Norfolk and made another gain in Norwich.
This result – whilst poor – isn’t a disaster because the LibDems won’t be able to treat every seat like Alysham next time around.
You only need to look at Clavering – a by-election gain for the Tories from the LibDems last May, held on the same day at the main local elections. Without the ruthless focus (no pun intended) from the LibDem by-election machine it was easily won by the Conservatives.
All we need to do it to create a by-election force as good as the LibDem one. I think we could do it and all it would take is a little political will…
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Posted by antonylittle
We’re 1 in 25,000,000
November 25, 2007Louise recieved a letter yesterday confirming that our details were amongst the 25million lost by the govenrment last week.
This is staggering incompetence, although we have become used to such things from this government. When we signed up to receive Child Benefit we were assured of the safety of the data we were providing.
Getting a letter from HMRC that tried to reassure us has done the opposite. I have no faith that the discs are still on government property and am still having to monitor our bank account very closely.
Gordon Brown has heaped pressure after pressure on HMRC, making them perform more tasks on a smaller budget. The Chancellor has proved he is no “safe pair of hands” either. There are a lot of questions that need answering.
Families, like mine, from across Norwich will not forget this blunder for a long time to come.
The woman from the petrol station speaks…
November 22, 2007When I went to fill up my car yesterday, I bemoaned the increase in petrol prices to the lovely lady behind the counter. Her reply:
“I can’t worry about petrol prices, I’m too busy worrying about people stealing from my bank account.”
Well put.
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Posted by antonylittle
Norwich Unitary Status given a parliamentary savaging … a debate worth watching
November 20, 2007For those who believe that parliament is all about the punch ‘n’ judy of PMQs, please watch this film about the debates in Wesminster Hall. 90 minutes through the film you get to see an excellent section on the unitary debate in Norfolk.
Led by Mid Norfolk’s Tory MP Keith Simpson, it engages Charles Clarke (Norwich S), Norman Lamb (N Norfolk), Henry Bellingham (NW Norfolk), Richard Bacon (S Norfolk) and also the Minister, John Healy, and Shadow Minister, Alastair Burt.
Overall unitary is given a good thrashing by the LibDems and Tories, but the real winner here is the quality of parliamentary debate.
Click
