Long March to election

Opine

[oh-pahyn]

–vb/ to hold or express an opinion.

[Origin: 1575–85; < L opīnārī to think, deem]

Text Box: Gordon Brown is clawing his way back up the leadership ratings, possibly off the back of an out-of-character deep and meaningful with the insidious and repugnant Piers Morgan last week. Bookending the same week a group of senior economists have written to the Financial Times in support of the Government’s policy of continued economic stimulus. Mr Brown has also chosen Labour’s spring campaigning event to launch the clumsy but aspirational electioneering slogan ‘A future fair for all.’ It can’t hurt that David Cameron’s shiny-face strategy for his party doesn’t bear up to the closer scrutiny it’s been getting recently. So with the polls not against them and the news cycles in their favour at the moment, Labour’s election hopes gain nothing from waiting until May or even April. An early election would reduce the chances of outside events torpedoing the fragile recovery, and would allow Labour to dodge both April’s economic figures, likely to show a slight relapse, and Mr Brown’s appearance before the Chilcott enquiry. Financially a snap election and a short campaign would also suit the debt-ridden Labour Party’s cause. Some strange tactics around scheduling of Parliamentary reform proposals and mysterious manoeuvrings on Gallery tickets for PMQs this week do little more than hint that the game is afoot this Wednesday. As for predictions, the likelihood of a hung Parliament or an unworkable majority mean that Ladbrokes’ offer of 10/1 on there being two elections in 2010 is an enticing prospect. comment@opine-blog.com See also: Politics The wheels come off

21 February, 2010

The long March to the election

“Never make predictions – especially about the future.” Whether it was a Danish physicist or a New York Yankee who first uttered the phrase, the irony would be lost in the current political climate.

What some Labour staffers refer to sardonically as the Government’s ‘negative lead’ in the polls is ebbing, with the gap closing to its lowest for 14 months.

After the Tories’ debacle on marriage tax proposals at the beginning of the year, Andrew Lansley’s tantrums have managed to fight his party out of an otherwise principled and grown-up debate on the future of social care.

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