Analysis of the shadow cabinet candidates’ Labour leader preferences reveals that Ed Miliband cannot rely on automatic support for his leadership. Of the 49 MPs standing for the shadow cabinet, 14 did not put down any preference for the Labour leader.
An Ipsos-MORI poll published yesterday shows the Lib Dems floundering in coalition, while the Conservatives thrive. Tory voters are happy – 85% are hopeful of their government’s potential. But only 54% of Lib Dems are, with 43% describing themselves as fearful of the government. This may reflect the fact that 51% of all voters believe the government is not a ‘genuine coalition’; instead, they think the Conservatives are making most of the decisions.
In a speech today to the Labour Party conference, John Healey set out a detailed critique of the Coalition’s ‘New Homes Bonus’ scheme. He argued it will “blow out of the water” George Osbourne’s promise of a council tax freeze in many areas.
The Red Ed myth refuses to die. In spite of Mr Miliband’s direct rebuttal of it during his speech yesterday, the right-wing press are not relenting in their attempts – reported by Left Foot Forward earlier this week – to portray Labour’s new leader as the puppet of the trade unions.
In spite of sharing the same proprietor as the Sun, The Times has virtually ignored the YouGov results. They are buried at the very end of an 800 word article reporting a “leaked” Populus poll for the Conservatives which finds David is seen as the more prime-ministerial brother. And it seems that the significance of the Populus poll’s findings can be called to question.
Labour’s economic direction is far from determined. But the ratio of taxation to spending is just as important a discussion as the speed of deficit reduction.
Patrick Diamond today writes about the importance of reconnecting with C1 and C2 voters, and targets southern England outside London as the key battleground.
Lib Dem supporters are rallying behind Clegg and his Coalitioneers. The anticipated fallout has yet to surface, and a healthy dose of dissent has risen in its place.
The Department for Work and Pensions is under pressure to improve levels of transparency and accountability following a FullFact.org investigation yesterday.
David Miliband’s team have hit back at comments by Mili-E on the Today programme. His team claim that they are “also increasingly confident” of victory.
