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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Latest Lord Ashcroft marginals polling brings bad news for

SystemSystem Posts: 11,693
edited March 2015 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Latest Lord Ashcroft marginals polling brings bad news for the Tories

The latest batch of Lord Ashcroft marginals polling is out, and will bring bring great cheer to Labour and much disappointment to the Tories, who would have hoped the national polling trends would feed into the marginals.

Read the full story here


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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,833
    edited March 2015
    Plenty of time for Dave to Chillax starting from May 8th?
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    edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,151
    Polling marginals is hard. Forget about them and just do UNS on the national polls, except for LibDem seats and Scotland.
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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,833
    FTPT
    GIN1138 said:

    I can't discover from the report if the same polling company polled each time. Given we have had His Lordship's national polling exploring the outer reaches of margin of error each week, it is really hard to have much confidence that there is any consistency across his marginals polling....

    What's annoying about this election is that Lord A is the only one seemingly doing marginals polling.

    In 2010 we had regular marginals polling from ICM, YouGov and MORI. Nothing this time - Even ComRes (who did the occasional marginals poll a while ago) seem to have given up polling the marginals....

    Is the reason they've all stopped doing marginals polls that they weren't very good before 2010? I mean I know ICM have stopped because the Labour Party and Hacked Off put the NOTW out of business, but what about MORI and YouGov?

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    QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    FPT:
    TGOHF said:



    Quincel said:

    These polls are yet more evidence the LD will have a, erm, very efficient vote distribution in May. 8/11 on them losing 200+ deposits may yet still be a bit of value.

    And if believed the Cons whilst still polling around the same nationally must be piling up votes in safe seats as they are down in the marginals ?

    Those same seats where it is safe to vote Kipper and hence Kipper are doing well.

    Can't all be true.
    True, but I'd point to the consistent weakness of the LDs in all of Ashcroft's Con/Lab polling. Outside their seats they are being slaughtered. And with their national position solidly in the single digits, there just aren't enough votes to go around to hold many deposits. 200+ lost isn't certain by any means, but shockingly enough might be 60% or so likely - which would make 8/11 value.
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    QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949

    Polling marginals is hard. Forget about them and just do UNS on the national polls, except for LibDem seats and Scotland.

    I broadly agree, but don't let OGH hear you.
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    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Evidence that an Income tax cut tomorrow is what is really required.
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    noisywinternoisywinter Posts: 249
    I've just laid the Tories about 2k between 1.48-1.5 on betfair. Crazy short. Still, if its a big money backer holding the price down I hope the market won't remain wrong longer than I can remain solvent!
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,129
    FPT: I can't discover from the report if the same polling company polled each time. Given we have had His Lordship's national polling exploring the outer reaches of margin of error each week, it is really hard to have much confidence that there is any consistency across his marginals polling....
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    edited March 2015
    When you look at those UKIP percentages in that table, sheesh, Nige is destroying the tories.
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    noisywinternoisywinter Posts: 249
    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with
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    JohnLoonyJohnLoony Posts: 1,790
    How are we supposed to see what it says in the colourful graphic at the top? I have looked at the detailed results (i.e. the boring looking bit), from which I realise that this seems to be the Populus poll in which I was polled about a week ago. But the graphic itself is too tiny to see properly.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    taffys said:

    When you look at those UKIP percentages in that table, sheesh, he is destroying the tories.

    Labour has it's own problems with the SNP and Greens, though the Lib Dems going backwards does help.

    If Dave can't beat Ed his footnote in Conservative history will be devastating.
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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31908431
    Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31920906
    Judges sacked for watching porn

    Only one thing to do: vote UKIP to get the smell of corruption out of your nostrils.
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    RogerRoger Posts: 18,892
    The good news for the Tories is that they've looked really sleazy recently. Cameron supporting Carkson then his supporters in the press oozing bile....the type of stuff that makes most centrist and ex Lib Dem voters want to throw up.

    So the good news? When the election comes some of these people will do what anti Tories have done over the ages and with a clothes peg in hand look at their wallets and decide that they might be better off with the Tories.............
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693

    I've just laid the Tories about 2k between 1.48-1.5 on betfair. Crazy short. Still, if its a big money backer holding the price down I hope the market won't remain wrong longer than I can remain solvent!

    That's not a bad bet at all. A better bet would probably be to sell sterling though :)
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    One crumb for the tories is the stat that more than half of all voters in this poll prefer Dave as PM to ed (only one in three).

    This could concentrate some minds come May 7th, if these voters know they are in marginals.

    But the table above certainly suggests that the tories main enemy is not Ed. It is Farage.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    edited March 2015

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    This polling makes me worry a bit about Kingswood and Portsmouth North where I've backed Conservative @ 3-1 and 1-2. (Kingswood bet was yonks back)

    Anyway I still think they'll hold those. Have adjusted overall taking £20 @ 2.5 Ed PM and laying £10 liability overall on Lab seats.
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    DanSmithDanSmith Posts: 1,215
    Pulpstar said:

    taffys said:

    When you look at those UKIP percentages in that table, sheesh, he is destroying the tories.

    Labour has it's own problems with the SNP and Greens, though the Lib Dems going backwards does help.

    If Dave can't beat Ed his footnote in Conservative history will be devastating.
    SNP are destroying Labour, but the Greens won't get more than 2-3% come election day.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,994
    Mr. Winter, welcome to pb.com.

    Always best to try and be objective, whether on politics or F1. Wish I had that much money spare for betting.
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    kjohnwkjohnw Posts: 1,456
    Whats the betting along with the pension reforms that the EU referendum will be brought forward, to bring back the kippers
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    If Dave can't beat Ed his footnote in Conservative history will be devastating.

    Indeed. Southampton Itchen is the fascinating one for me. UKIP - 20%!...
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    taffys said:

    If Dave can't beat Ed his footnote in Conservative history will be devastating.

    Indeed. Southampton Itchen is the fascinating one for me. UKIP - 20%!...

    Itchen was the deepest Labour gain in 1992 I think.
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    noisywinternoisywinter Posts: 249
    Morris Dancer- I should clarify I only staked 1k odd to lay the Tories 2k at about 1.5
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    ArtistArtist Posts: 1,882
    Why are the Conservatives behind in voter contact? I thought they were peppering marginals with literature.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    My Betfair position looks awful on some markets, but always have to remember I have bets with bookies so its not a "true" position :)
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,994
    Mr. Winter, your use of the term 'only' amuses me :p

    Mr. W, may do more harm than good. A 2015 vote is utterly incompatible with Cameron's negotiation line, which means abandoning that [dubious as it is anyway], or a 2016 vote which will only make the Kippers think it's not good enough.
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Jack's Ar$e must a twitching a bit after those Ashcroft numbers...
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    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820
    kjohnw said:

    Whats the betting along with the pension reforms that the EU referendum will be brought forward, to bring back the kippers

    Why should it make any difference? The Kippers don't want a referendum - if they did, they'd be voting Tory in the first place - and in any case no sentient being is going to change his vote because of a proposed 18 months difference in the date of a referendum. And any genuine supporter of taking us Out would certainly not want a referendum this year - the Out side haven't even begun to address the various practical issues which would they would be asked in the campaign. They need time to put together a serious case (not that they seem interested in that).
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    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    taffys said:

    If Dave can't beat Ed his footnote in Conservative history will be devastating.

    Indeed. Southampton Itchen is the fascinating one for me. UKIP - 20%!...

    Vote Kipper get Ed.
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    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    Pulpstar said:

    My Betfair position looks awful on some markets, but always have to remember I have bets with bookies so its not a "true" position :)

    Yeah i need to put together a consolidated spreadsheet as i have bets at ladbrokes betfair exchange betfair sportsbook and will hill
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Bit of caution on Nuneaton, the weighting swings it every which way in the tables.
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    tysontyson Posts: 6,050

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    NoisyWinter- that's what makes political betting so lucrative. Bet on polls and you can't go wrong, you really cannot. Also, never forget the consoling effect that winning cash mitigates against losing your political preferences.
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    EasterrossEasterross Posts: 1,915
    Afternoon all and what this bunch of marginal also says is that the Tories are holding another seat they were previously scheduled to lose. We don't have long to wait until we find out the real situation, given the short campaign finally starts next weekend.
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    tyson said:

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    NoisyWinter- that's what makes political betting so lucrative. Bet on polls and you can't go wrong, you really cannot. Also, never forget the consoling effect that winning cash mitigates against losing your political preferences.
    Disappointment insurance :)
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Conservatives 13% behind in voter contact there though ?!

    I'm going to have a word with my Dad, tell him they are being out ground gamed in Nuneaton.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,859
    edited March 2015
    As expected, Tory optimism is pretty much unfounded. It seems unfair, it may even be unfair, but they are just not doing as well in many places as they think they should be doing. Scotland is the only thing preventing a probable Labour majority, but that's small comfort for the Tories given the end result remains Ed M being PM.

    Relying on things changing, not by a little but by a lot as that is what is required, in the short time left (yes, even acknowledging 'normal' people are not fully engaged yet), is all the Tories have left, but is asking an awful lot.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Pong said:

    tyson said:

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    NoisyWinter- that's what makes political betting so lucrative. Bet on polls and you can't go wrong, you really cannot. Also, never forget the consoling effect that winning cash mitigates against losing your political preferences.
    Disappointment insurance :)
    I'm almost completely disinterested in this election at this point from the PoV of what happens to the country.
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    NoEasyDayNoEasyDay Posts: 454
    Deja vu again, its different in the marginals,,,,wake up and smell the METThs.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    edited March 2015
    kle4 said:

    As expected, Tory optimism is pretty much unfounded. It seems unfair, it may even be unfair, but they are just not doing as well in many places as they think they should be doing. Scotland is the only thing preventing a probable Labour majority, but that's small comfort for the Tories given the end result remains Ed M being PM.

    Relying on things changing, not by a little but by a lot as that is what is required, in the short time left (yes, even acknowledging 'normal' people are not fully engaged yet), is all the Tories have left, but is asking an awful lot.

    No, these marginal polls are worse for the Tories than that. Recent polling has shown level pegging with Ashcroft, to be going backwards in marginals even if some is down to sampling bias is very poor.
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    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083

    kjohnw said:

    Whats the betting along with the pension reforms that the EU referendum will be brought forward, to bring back the kippers

    Why should it make any difference? The Kippers don't want a referendum - if they did, they'd be voting Tory in the first place - and in any case no sentient being is going to change his vote because of a proposed 18 months difference in the date of a referendum. And any genuine supporter of taking us Out would certainly not want a referendum this year - the Out side haven't even begun to address the various practical issues which would they would be asked in the campaign. They need time to put together a serious case (not that they seem interested in that).
    There seem to be a couple of problems with that logic. If they wanted a referendum AND trusted Cameron, they might be voting Tory. Even then, only if they were on board with the perceived socially liberal values of the Cameron project etc etc. Second, the idea of a referendum sooner rather than later makes complete sense if you aim for managerial competence first and visionary change a distant second. I'm not sure that's where much of the electorate is, though. The Scottish experience suggests that at least 40% have their priorities the other way round (i.e. they'll vote for an ideal that maybe doesn't stack up ahead).
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Had Mcveigh on a knife edge this morning. She's not, she's toast.
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    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,758
    taffys said:

    When you look at those UKIP percentages in that table, sheesh, Nige is destroying the tories.

    No, the Tories are destroying themselves.
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    Backing EdM4PM has got to be one of the best value bets out there.

    The odds are completely the wrong way round.
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    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    A one per cent lead to 11% is that actually credible? What has changed to cause such a swing.?
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    @Quincel Bet you're glad you didn't back that basket of Con marginals now !
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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    Farage doing very well in the Daily Politics today, answering all questions without evasion.
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    Pulpstar said:

    Pong said:

    tyson said:

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    NoisyWinter- that's what makes political betting so lucrative. Bet on polls and you can't go wrong, you really cannot. Also, never forget the consoling effect that winning cash mitigates against losing your political preferences.
    Disappointment insurance :)
    I'm almost completely disinterested in this election at this point from the PoV of what happens to the country.
    lol
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    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,610
    The Tories need to be doing a lot better with women. With men they aren't really too far behind, but with women they are severely lacking. I'm not even sure what they can do about it without falling back on stuff like childcare which may come across as patronising.
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Vote Kipper get Ed.

    IF the tories want someone to blame for leaking core support, look in the mirror.

    Dave made the tories 'progressive'. He took away the 'nasty'. Fine. Live with the consequences.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    One thing is clear - Scotland and England are two completely seperate countries politically speaking now. In a way I don't think has ever been seen before in the UK. For Labour at any rate.
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    NoEasyDayNoEasyDay Posts: 454
    October 2009

    "What is interesting is that between the last national YouGov survey a fortnight ago and this one there has been the Channel 4 YouGov poll of the marginals which pointed to an overall Tory majority of 54 seats. This seems to indicate the things are working differently in the key seats where the election will be decided and where the parties are putting most of their campaigning effort."
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    ArtistArtist Posts: 1,882
    The Conservatives carried Worcester in the local elections last year, so maybe it's a good guide to what seats the Tories will do better in. The two other marginals the Tories carried were Pudsey (11/10) and Gloucester (4/6).
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    QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    Pulpstar said:

    @Quincel Bet you're glad you didn't back that basket of Con marginals now !

    Indeed! Topped up my EdM PM instead.

    Although, these polls will make the Lab Most Seats/Tory specific-seats even better, most likely.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Pong said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pong said:

    tyson said:

    Now I just have to reflect at what point I will start wishing for the Tories to lose because of my betting position. Its tough betting against your preference!

    A position I'm sure some of the better punters on here will be familiar with

    NoisyWinter- that's what makes political betting so lucrative. Bet on polls and you can't go wrong, you really cannot. Also, never forget the consoling effect that winning cash mitigates against losing your political preferences.
    Disappointment insurance :)
    I'm almost completely disinterested in this election at this point from the PoV of what happens to the country.
    lol
    I'm taking a VERY Thatcherite approach to this GE :)
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    kierankieran Posts: 77
    For those people saying UNS is likely to be the best guide to what happens in the Tory / Labour marginals a key question is whether to us GB UNS or England UNS.

    It seems clear the swing in England is a least 1 and possibly even 2 points higher than across Britain as a whole. That could make a difference of 5 - 10 seats which would be crucial.

    A further point is that many commentators, such as Peter Kellner, have argued the Conservatives would get an incumbency boost in these marginals. I haven't seen any polling evidence to support this and in these marginals it seems Labour are marginally out working the Conservatives on the ground.

    Finally, I think critiques of marginal polls are valid. However, we have to acknowledge what Ashcroft is doing is unique. The sample size across these constituencies - 8k - is higher than in about 2 months of national telephone polls. That's not to say it will be accurate, but it surely deserves more weight than marginals polls in years gone by that regularly only sampled about 30 - 40 voters per marginal seat.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,436
    It looks like we're back at the situation a year ago. The 2010 Lib Dems breaking heavily for Labour, and UKIP taking crucial points off the Tories.

    But I just don't know. It doesn't "feel" right that the Tories 50-60th most marginal seats should be vulnerable when they're level in the polls. But that is what this data says.

    Maybe it will just come down to turnout.
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    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820
    Pong said:

    Backing EdM4PM has got to be one of the best value bets out there.

    The odds are completely the wrong way round.

    Isn't Lab Minority a better bet, though?
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941

    Pong said:

    Backing EdM4PM has got to be one of the best value bets out there.

    The odds are completely the wrong way round.

    Isn't Lab Minority a better bet, though?
    I'm chock full of that already :)
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    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Farage talking about "Peak Kipper" on Daily Politics
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941

    It looks like we're back at the situation a year ago. The 2010 Lib Dems breaking heavily for Labour, and UKIP taking crucial points off the Tories.

    But I just don't know. It doesn't "feel" right that the Tories 50-60th most marginal seats should be vulnerable when they're level in the polls. But that is what this data says.

    Maybe it will just come down to turnout.

    Well you've seen @TSE's reluctance to vote Lib Dem even though Clegg could well need it, and the COnservative vote holding up tremendously well in Scotland.

    UKIP voters seem to me to be very determined to vote UKIP in England though, take a look at Guido/Mail/Telegraph comments. They are normally along the lines of "Fuck off Ed Miliband, I'm voting for Nigel"

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    JohnOJohnO Posts: 4,215
    edited March 2015

    It looks like we're back at the situation a year ago. The 2010 Lib Dems breaking heavily for Labour, and UKIP taking crucial points off the Tories.

    But I just don't know. It doesn't "feel" right that the Tories 50-60th most marginal seats should be vulnerable when they're level in the polls. But that is what this data says.

    Maybe it will just come down to turnout.

    My chum of forty years, polling guru and personal electoral trainer, Dr Rober Waller, opines that if there is a marked difference between national polls and those in individual seats then it's wiser to trust the former over the latter.

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    edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,151
    kieran said:

    For those people saying UNS is likely to be the best guide to what happens in the Tory / Labour marginals a key question is whether to us GB UNS or England UNS.

    It seems clear the swing in England is a least 1 and possibly even 2 points higher than across Britain as a whole. That could make a difference of 5 - 10 seats which would be crucial.

    A further point is that many commentators, such as Peter Kellner, have argued the Conservatives would get an incumbency boost in these marginals. I haven't seen any polling evidence to support this and in these marginals it seems Labour are marginally out working the Conservatives on the ground.

    Finally, I think critiques of marginal polls are valid. However, we have to acknowledge what Ashcroft is doing is unique. The sample size across these constituencies - 8k - is higher than in about 2 months of national telephone polls. That's not to say it will be accurate, but it surely deserves more weight than marginals polls in years gone by that regularly only sampled about 30 - 40 voters per marginal seat.

    I'd do England/Wales UNS, since Scotland has got its own thing going on. I wouldn't bother adjusting for incumbency - UNS works as well as anything else because some effects like that on either side tend to cancel out.
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    kierankieran Posts: 77
    One thing I think Ashcroft has totally wrong is his PM question.

    There is a well established bias towards the middle in questions, whereby if someone is unsure and they are given 3 options they choose the middle option.

    A much better question would a straight - DC v EM one. DC would lead this, but not by the margin suggested by the question Ashcroft used.
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    woody662woody662 Posts: 255
    How did the marginal polling perform last time?
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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,833
    edited March 2015
    MikeK said:

    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31908431
    Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31920906
    Judges sacked for watching porn

    Only one thing to do: vote UKIP to get the smell of corruption out of your nostrils.

    LOL! Give over. That kind of stuff goes down OK on the Telegraph blogs, but people at PB are too savvy to get taken in by such nonsense.

    Should the Kippers get anywhere near power they will be just as sleazy, corrupt, self-serving, etc... As anybody else...

    Infact, as we saw from Tony Blair's piety on "Tory Sleaze" in the 1990's, it's usually the one's who make themselves out to be "purer than pure" that end up being the worst offenders.
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    enfantenfant Posts: 34
    JohnO the yougov last night 35/33 equates to a 5% swing,a little more than these Ashcroft polls are showing.No need to consult your guru
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941

    It looks like we're back at the situation a year ago. The 2010 Lib Dems breaking heavily for Labour, and UKIP taking crucial points off the Tories.

    But I just don't know. It doesn't "feel" right that the Tories 50-60th most marginal seats should be vulnerable when they're level in the polls. But that is what this data says.

    Maybe it will just come down to turnout.

    The Labour collapse in Scotland means that for any given Labour score they have to have 1.5% or so more spread across England to make up for their looming Scottish disaster. Which flatters the Conservatives when you look at a level national poll.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    Pong said:

    Backing EdM4PM has got to be one of the best value bets out there.

    The odds are completely the wrong way round.

    Isn't Lab Minority a better bet, though?
    Yes:

    http://newstonoone.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/party-games-constructing-next-government_17.html
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    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,523
    edited March 2015
    enfant said:

    JohnO the yougov last night 35/33 equates to a 5% swing,a little more than these Ashcroft polls are showing.No need to consult your guru

    I believe you owe me an apology old bean.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @NCPoliticsUK: Interesting: seats where polling started in late Feb show a 5.25pt move to LAB vs last poll. The later ones show a 1.5pt move to CON #GE2015
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    NoEasyDayNoEasyDay Posts: 454
    After the last election this was the conclusion to the "its different in the marginals" debate.

    "The change in Conservative vote varied by less than two percentage points moving from their weakest to their strongest areas, and they actually underperformed somewhat in their weakest areas relative to the average"
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,859
    MikeK said:

    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    Seems like the wrong way round, surely? Given how obviously bad LibLabCon are, supposedly, that people kept voting them in says their morals were bad hence they voted for them, rather than they voted for them and then the evil LibLabCon turned them bad. If you are saying LibLabCon turned us all bad that robs us all of our agency I feel.

    Also, while I welcome the rise of UKIP, if 60+% of people still vote for Lab/Con and maybe 70% LibLabCon, surely the morals of the country will still be effed as the majority won't have taken your cure.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @GdnPolitics: 51 days to go - our latest projection:

    CON 277 seats
    LAB 269
    SNP 53
    LDEM 25
    UKIP 4
    GRN 1

    http://t.co/QHx89sNbkF http://t.co/eMNenEv3ID
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    OblitusSumMeOblitusSumMe Posts: 9,143
    TGOHF said:

    Evidence that an Income tax cut tomorrow is what is really required.

    With the budget deficit the wrong side of £75bn?

    Pitt the Younger would be spinning in his grave.
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    woody662 said:

    How did the marginal polling perform last time?

    The marginals polling last time was nothing like what we're getting today.

    With Ashcroft we're getting seat specific marginal polling, whereas last time we got aggregate marginal polling.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Interesting article, posits that Ed has the SNP just where he wants them...

    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/03/ed-milibands-question-for-the-snp-do-you-feel-lucky-punks/
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    FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    Artist said:

    Why are the Conservatives behind in voter contact? I thought they were peppering marginals with literature.

    Not sure I would class Colchester as a marginal but the tories are very busy there indeed.

    going to have to be a very bad day for the Lib Dems for Sir Bob to get his P45 I would have thought.
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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    GIN1138 said:

    MikeK said:

    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31908431
    Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31920906
    Judges sacked for watching porn

    Only one thing to do: vote UKIP to get the smell of corruption out of your nostrils.

    LOL! Give over. That kind of stuff goes down OK on the Telegraph blogs, but people at PB are too savvy to get taken in by such nonsense.

    Should the Kippers get anywhere near power they will be just as sleazy, corrupt, self-serving, etc... As anybody else...

    Infact, as we saw from Tony Blair's piety on "Tory Sleaze" in the 1990's, it's usually the one's who make themselves out to be "purer than pure" that end up being the worst offenders.
    Oh, so you agree #GIN1138, that the party you support is corrupt to the eyeballs. How interesting that you continue to support scumbags.
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    GhedebravGhedebrav Posts: 3,001
    I've moved to a LD/CON marginal (LD defending) and have only just received my first Tory leaflet, let alone anything like a doorstepping. Much less slick than the LDs (who also happen to have very plugged in councillors - one of whom got in touch to welcome us to the area) who I'm pretty sure will hang on here. Stark contrast to the LAB/LD battleground (again LD defending) I moved out of a month ago where I was being lovebombed by the Labour PPC even though he's nailed on (1/19 at last look) to win.
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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,833
    edited March 2015
    MikeK said:

    GIN1138 said:

    MikeK said:

    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31908431
    Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31920906
    Judges sacked for watching porn

    Only one thing to do: vote UKIP to get the smell of corruption out of your nostrils.

    LOL! Give over. That kind of stuff goes down OK on the Telegraph blogs, but people at PB are too savvy to get taken in by such nonsense.

    Should the Kippers get anywhere near power they will be just as sleazy, corrupt, self-serving, etc... As anybody else...

    Infact, as we saw from Tony Blair's piety on "Tory Sleaze" in the 1990's, it's usually the one's who make themselves out to be "purer than pure" that end up being the worst offenders.
    Oh, so you agree #GIN1138, that the party you support is corrupt to the eyeballs. How interesting that you continue to support scumbags.
    I think the Conservative Party, like the Labour Party and the Lib-Dems and UKIP and any other political party has good people and bad people and sometimes people that are both good and bad at the same time.

    Something rotten clearly did happen in the 70's and 80's and hopefully we'll be able to shed some light on what went on, but it has very little bearing on who I trust with my finances, NHS, job, etc... In the next five years.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Ghedebrav said:

    I've moved to a LD/CON marginal (LD defending) and have only just received my first Tory leaflet, let alone anything like a doorstepping. Much less slick than the LDs (who also happen to have very plugged in councillors - one of whom got in touch to welcome us to the area) who I'm pretty sure will hang on here. Stark contrast to the LAB/LD battleground (again LD defending) I moved out of a month ago where I was being lovebombed by the Labour PPC even though he's nailed on (1/19 at last look) to win.

    Which marginal ?
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,859
    I am amazed so many are still predicting Con most seats. Much more intelligent and experienced people and orgs than I, too, and yet I just cannot accept that the reality as I see it of a Labour win of some sort (most seats or majority - probably the former given Scottish troubles) could be incorrect, so certain does it appear to me.

    As I would prefer Cameron be PM I won't mind getting egg on my face by being proven wrong, but it probably would dent my confidence to make any sort of predictions for a while. Maybe for a few weeks at least.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Scott_P said:

    Interesting article, posits that Ed has the SNP just where he wants them...

    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/03/ed-milibands-question-for-the-snp-do-you-feel-lucky-punks/

    The SNP don't need to support Labour on every measure. They've reserved to themselves the right to vote on English-only matters and can then decide on a case-by-case basis whether they abstain or not. They can create havoc by such means.
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    JohnOJohnO Posts: 4,215
    edited March 2015
    enfant said:

    JohnO the yougov last night 35/33 equates to a 5% swing,a little more than these Ashcroft polls are showing.No need to consult your guru

    If May 7th results in Lab 35, Con 33%, not a shadow of doubt that Ed is crap is PM.
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    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Just called the Shooting Star and the Arsenal match is being shown!!

    So hopefully see a few of you there for the 2nd half
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    ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,981
    MikeK said:

    GIN1138 said:

    MikeK said:

    The country's morals have crumbled under the weight of bad Lab/Lib/Con governments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31908431
    Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31920906
    Judges sacked for watching porn

    Only one thing to do: vote UKIP to get the smell of corruption out of your nostrils.

    LOL! Give over. That kind of stuff goes down OK on the Telegraph blogs, but people at PB are too savvy to get taken in by such nonsense.

    Should the Kippers get anywhere near power they will be just as sleazy, corrupt, self-serving, etc... As anybody else...

    Infact, as we saw from Tony Blair's piety on "Tory Sleaze" in the 1990's, it's usually the one's who make themselves out to be "purer than pure" that end up being the worst offenders.
    Oh, so you agree #GIN1138, that the party you support is corrupt to the eyeballs. How interesting that you continue to support scumbags.
    Don't quite understand your logic, especially regarding the porn-watching judges. They were sacked under the auspices of the LibLabCon regime. And though over 30 years ago it appears that there was an establishment cover-up of Cyril Smith's activities, it is LibLabCon who are now uncovering it.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    antifrank said:

    The SNP don't need to support Labour on every measure. They've reserved to themselves the right to vote on English-only matters and can then decide on a case-by-case basis whether they abstain or not. They can create havoc by such means.

    True, but every time they don't vote with Labour, they are "voting with the TORIES !!!!!" which they might not want to do too often before the Holyrood elections.

    Maybe.
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    RogerRoger Posts: 18,892
    Don't worry Klee. Their confidence is born of the same confidence that Cameron showed when he said he wanted to be PM because he thought he'd be good at it. It owes much more to being masters of the universe than any polling analysis
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    ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,981
    Personally, I think that UNS is not going to be of much help predicting the result of this most unpredictable of all elections. 2010 saw marked differentials in swing from one constituency to another - and I think that is just going to be all the more marked this time, given the complicating factors of the SNP surge and the rise of UKIP.
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    antifrank said:

    Pong said:

    Backing EdM4PM has got to be one of the best value bets out there.

    The odds are completely the wrong way round.

    Isn't Lab Minority a better bet, though?
    Yes:

    http://newstonoone.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/party-games-constructing-next-government_17.html
    I don't disagree with that.
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    ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,981
    edited March 2015
    isam said:

    Just called the Shooting Star and the Arsenal match is being shown!!

    So hopefully see a few of you there for the 2nd half

    The big match tonight is Derby v Boro.
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    FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    Ghedebrav said:

    I've moved to a LD/CON marginal (LD defending) and have only just received my first Tory leaflet, let alone anything like a doorstepping. Much less slick than the LDs (who also happen to have very plugged in councillors - one of whom got in touch to welcome us to the area) who I'm pretty sure will hang on here. Stark contrast to the LAB/LD battleground (again LD defending) I moved out of a month ago where I was being lovebombed by the Labour PPC even though he's nailed on (1/19 at last look) to win.

    I was very impressed with the lib dem Councillors who helped with the setting up of our local residents association (just advice on how to go about it and local issues - nothing overtly political). They are also active on facebook.

    For my wife and I we did begin to wonder how much is just talk when they responded to one of our complaints about council services and told us they were getting it sorted - for nothing to happen - but it did get resolved when my wife rang the council directly.

    In Colchester the Lib Dems approach seems to be don't vote tory they want to concrete over the entire area..... whilst ignoring all the housebuilding that's gone on / going on / planned already.

    As to Labour, tumbleweed.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Scott_P said:

    antifrank said:

    The SNP don't need to support Labour on every measure. They've reserved to themselves the right to vote on English-only matters and can then decide on a case-by-case basis whether they abstain or not. They can create havoc by such means.

    True, but every time they don't vote with Labour, they are "voting with the TORIES !!!!!" which they might not want to do too often before the Holyrood elections.

    Maybe.
    They can abstain on English-only matters whenever they choose on the ground that there is no Scottish angle. I expect that they will do so whenever they feel that Labour need a bit of destabilising. Simple, obvious, and very effective when you've got something like 50 MPs if Labour are far short of an overall majority in England.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    antifrank said:

    They can abstain

    Yes, but Labour will claim that as a vote against them in Scotland.

    Might work. Might not. Might be academic.
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    FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    isam said:

    Just called the Shooting Star and the Arsenal match is being shown!!

    So hopefully see a few of you there for the 2nd half

    It's a nice pub and admittedly I was quite drunk last time I was there but I cant even remember where the screen is / are!
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    QuincelQuincel Posts: 3,949
    antifrank said:

    Scott_P said:

    antifrank said:

    The SNP don't need to support Labour on every measure. They've reserved to themselves the right to vote on English-only matters and can then decide on a case-by-case basis whether they abstain or not. They can create havoc by such means.

    True, but every time they don't vote with Labour, they are "voting with the TORIES !!!!!" which they might not want to do too often before the Holyrood elections.

    Maybe.
    They can abstain on English-only matters whenever they choose on the ground that there is no Scottish angle. I expect that they will do so whenever they feel that Labour need a bit of destabilising. Simple, obvious, and very effective when you've got something like 50 MPs if Labour are far short of an overall majority in England.
    Why are you so certain that pre-election statements about Coalitions will be kept? They may be, but the negotiating chamber is a funny place. Didn't Cameron rule out a deal with the LDs a couple of days before the last election?

    Especially given the LDs may well change leader post-election, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the new LDs were willing to work with Labour and demanded ministerial posts.

    I'm agree Lab Minority is value, but I don't think it is massively better than EdM PM.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Who would have dreamt that Nuneaton was looking more likely to be Labour than Motherwell in 2010 ?!
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    GhedebravGhedebrav Posts: 3,001
    edited March 2015
    Pulpstar said:

    Ghedebrav said:

    I've moved to a LD/CON marginal (LD defending) and have only just received my first Tory leaflet, let alone anything like a doorstepping. Much less slick than the LDs (who also happen to have very plugged in councillors - one of whom got in touch to welcome us to the area) who I'm pretty sure will hang on here. Stark contrast to the LAB/LD battleground (again LD defending) I moved out of a month ago where I was being lovebombed by the Labour PPC even though he's nailed on (1/19 at last look) to win.

    Which marginal ?
    Cheadle.

    (EDIT: I moved from Man Withington).
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,941
    Scott_P said:

    antifrank said:

    They can abstain

    Yes, but Labour will claim that as a vote against them in Scotland.

    Might work. Might not. Might be academic.
    Ed won't make every vote a confidence motion.
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    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Labour most seats into 2.98

This discussion has been closed.