Tories Pull Closer To Labour,

[anotheoldgit]

No not according to the Mail, but the Guardian no less.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/21/labour-tories-five-points-poll

[rojash]

And your question is?

[Gromit]

// The Guardian have published their monthly poll from ICM. Topline figures with changes from December’s poll are CON 33%(+1), LAB 38%(-2), LDEM 15(+2), UKIP 6%(-1). None of the changes are outside the normal margin of error, so are nothing to get particularly excited about, although for the record it is ICM’s lowest Labour lead since last August (ICM do, anyway, tend to show some of the lower Labour leads because of their reallocation of don’t knows, which tends to help the Liberal Democrats and hinder Labour).
The other question in the survey is yet another contrasting result on capping the increases in benefits – this time showing only 36% of people thinking that “squeezing benefits” is fair and 58% thinking it is unfair. As we have seen earlier, polling on this policy has produced some sharply contrasting results with no easy explanation for the variations. The suggestion in the Guardian that the contrast is a result of opinions changing after the autumn statement doesn’t hold up as YouGov was showing continuing support for a cap this month. It seems to be one of those issues that really does depend entirely on how it is framed, and with no obviously superior or more neutral wording to go far, I don’t think we can conclude much more than that how the public react to the policy probably will depend on how the political parties manage to frame it in the media. //

[anotheoldgit]

Don't criticise when you are not a staunch questioner yourself.

/// Never Been An Admirer Of Piers Morgan ///

/// I'll Probably Get Shot
for saying this, but you've got to admit...///

Need I go on?

[Gromit]

UK Polling Average (Pool of Polls)

Lab 41%
Con 31%
LibDem 10%

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/

[anotheoldgit]

Cling onto what little hope you find Gromit.

[Gromit]

Sorry to depress you AOG

http://www.noiseofthecrowd.com/past-elections-suggest-labours-prospects-are-better-than-most-commentators-think/

[jake-the-peg]

Currently looking like 112 seat majority for Labour

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/

Still a long way to go but to win Cameron needs to get back votes from UKIP (possible) and get disaffected LibDem votes away from Labour (less likely I think)

Bookmakers have Labour at 5:4 and Conservatives at 3:1 against

http://www.oddschecker.com/politics-and-election

So if you really think the Tories are going to win time to put some money on it!

[modeller]

If Labour really wants to pull ahead they should get closer to the people regards to the EU and forget the Blair legacy of sucking up to the EU because he wanted to be its first president.
Whilst they are at it they had better forget the Brown spending spree leading up to the election which pushed us even deeper into debt and the way he sold 11 billion of our gold reserves for 2 billion.

[Gromit]

Labour will go into the next election on a pro EU ticket. Unlike the conservatives who will pretend to be anti-EU to stop voters deserting them for UKiP.

Your figures on the Gold selling are a bit out. Brown sold $6.5billion of our reserves which were half of it. He bought Euros which also rose but nowhere near as well as Gold. So the net loss was about $3.5billion or the same as our loses on Black Wednesday.

[jake-the-peg]

Ah don't confuse them with facts Grommit!

The fact of the matter is that as Clinton so elegantly put it - it's the economy stupid!

The Tories won (kind of) on the promise of fixing the defecit and the economy.

Since then we've had a double dip recession and no growth in sight - you can put all the rhetoric you like behind that but there's a simple law

If people don't feel confident in the economic future they will not re-elect you


You can repeat all the anti-lLabour propaganda coming out of Tory Central office until you're blue in the face but you wont change that.

The Tory party's electoral future is in George Osbourne's hands

That's why the book-makers have such long odds against re-election

[modeller]

Oh really Gromet then you may like to read the Keiser report as recent as last October 2012.
http://www.scoinsandbullion.com/blog/487-how-much-did-gordon-browns-gold-sale-cost-us.html

[modeller]

Maybe Gromit you would like to comment on the other little matter
in that report.

#So just how bad did Brown screw UK tax payers in this particular instance? (let's forget about the additional £38,000 million the IMF just discovered he blew and hid).#

[Gromit]

Modeller,

As explained earlier, that is how much the gold lost but you have to add how much the Euros he purchase made over the same period.

Try reading a link that is not sponsored by Central Office.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sale_of_UK_gold_reserves,_1999-2002

[Gromit]

// The decision to sell gold at the low point in the price cycle has been likened to the mistakes in 1992 that led to Black Wednesday, when the UK was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which HM Treasury has estimated cost the UK taxpayer around £3.3 billion. //

[modeller]

You are wriggling again Gromit trying to highlight what has happened in the past to cover up Labours appalling recent record.

[Gromit]

// trying to highlight what has happened in the past to cover up Labours appalling recent record. //

Er, it was you brought up the past when you posted on the gold sale 15 years ago. Labour's recent record has been in opposition. The only appalling recent record is Mr Osborne's.

[Kromovaracun]

"The decision to sell gold at the low point in the price cycle has been likened to the mistakes in 1992 that led to Black Wednesday, when the UK was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism"

This does not make it less of a mistake. The argument you're putting forward here is fairly juvenile and frankly I think it's beneath you.

[modeller]

Gromit so you don't think two and a half years ago was recent ?
Ah that fits it's something you like to forget.

Let me remind you that was after 13 years of Labour's unroken rule and that was about the only thing that was unbroken.

[pdq1]

The Tories are doing a good job of divide and rule. Much of the Labour vote is made up of the unemployed and their sympathisers. However those in work have taken the message that the unemployed should not receive benefit increases whilst their wages have remained nearly static.

I think I am more concerned about the Liberal vote. A couple of weeks ago they were in the dumps and unelectable but now have 15%. Based on this the coalition could run and run beyond the next election.

[ludwig]

I wouldn't celebrate a Labour election victory before it's actually happened. Just ask Neil Kinnock.