Monday, 24 September 2007

The Weekend Poliblogs 22nd & 23rd September 2007

Who is a Fit and Proper Person to run a Football Club?

I thought that the blogstorm about Shillings Lawyers closing down several critical websites, and some innocent bystander websites including Boris Johnson’s blog, on behalf of Alisher Usmanov, would benefit from some background information about just who is regarded as a “Fit and Proper Person” to run a football club, and about the history of Mr Usmanov’s dealing with Arsenal.

The Wardman Wire

Blogging and Free Speech (updated)

Disturbing developments over at Bloggerheads, where Tim Ireland's blog is "off-air" - forced out of business thanks to the bullying of an Uzbek billionaire and his lawyers.

Alisher Usmanov recently bought shares in Arsenal. It's been alleged in several quarters that if they choose to dine with this guy, the Gunners should be supping with a very long spoon.

Mr Eugenides

Getting On With The Job

Election speculation continues to dominate the chatter here in Bournemouth, despite an identifiable calming of the language from Team GB. The Prime Minister has just completed a round of live breakfast interviews in which he failed to be pinned down on whether or not he's planning an election.

Boulton & Co.

Brown, bluetongue and election

He hasn't reached his 100 days in office, yet Gordon Brown must be beginning to wonder when his crash course in being Prime Minister is going to end. Terror, floods, foot and mouth, banking meltdown, more foot and mouth and now something called bluetongue. Bluetongue? Surely that's a joke about what Labour leaders get when they have tea with Margaret Thatcher? And in a weird Scottish touch it's spread by midges!

Ben Brogan

An Open Letter to Gordon Brown

Dear Gordon,

I hope you are having a good time in Bournemouth. I saw you on the television this morning and you looked as calm and relaxed as I have ever seen you. I know you are busy, but as a lowly party activist I just wanted to take up an issue with you. You wrote in The Guardian on Saturday about the lack of engagement between political parties and the electorate, and more specifically between political parties and their membership. You tell Guardian readers: I want every constituency party to have a strengthened mandate to engage on a regular basis with all sections of the community as an initial step to strengthen our grassroots presence.

Bob Piper

The Sun's EU campaign may derail Brown's election plans

Listed in the graphic on the right are some of the factors that may lead Gordon Brown to think again about a snap autumn election. Another risk factor should be added to that list this morning. This morning, The Sun launches a full-blooded campaign to give the British people a say on the draft EU Treaty.

Conservative Home

Labour at 2001 levels in the Mori “snap-shot”

What might cause some concern in the Brown camp is the way the Sun is covering the poll. The front page is reproduced here and indicates strongly that the paper will continue to take a pro-EU referendum stance and play it big.

Political Betting

Labour hit 42% in latest MORI poll

A new Ipsos-MORI poll in the Sun on Monday has voting intentions of CON 34%(-2), LAB 42%(+1), LDEM 14%(-2). There are no dates available for the fieldwork yet - sometimes MORI’s polls do take slightly longer to reach the papers, especially the monthly face-to-face polls, so this may have been taken prior to the ICM and YouGov polls that were published over the weekend.

Polling Report

Will he or won't he?

What did he mean by that? Is he preparing the way for an early election, simply keeping his options open or merely winding up his opponents - and, incidentally, the media?

Nick Robinson

Yes, people are talking about the next leader, but it isn’t because they want rid of Ming

If there is one thing that struck me more than anything at this week’s conference, it is that most people are now genuinely at ease with Ming Campbell’s leadership of the party. It is however also true that people are discussing who comes next.

Anders Hanson

A study in irrelevancy

It is a fair bet that, if a similar crisis was affecting French farmers, president Nicolas Sarkozy would not be basking in applause at his Party's annual conference, but would be holding urgent meetings with EU officials to bring aid to his beleaguered farmers.

EU Referendum

If you stop people voting on views the views do not go away

No wonder people are fed up with Uk party politics.

Today the Labour conference is expected to approve the Leader’s decision that members of the Labour party should no longer be able to table and vote on “contemporary resolutions” - topical matters that concern them. His reason - the members will probably have a different view from his and he has no intention of changing his view!

John Redwood’s Diary

Are referendums good or bad?

Disgruntled at Gordon’s Brown’s failure to hold a referendum on the new EU treaty/constitution, residents of a small village in Dorset took matters into their own hands and voted on the question of whether or not to hold a referendum. The pro-referendum party won overwhelmingly, and now the village of East Stoke in Dorset is committed to holding a referendum.

Pickled Politics

Would the Tories do better without Dave?

Reproduced above are the opening prices in a market from Paddy Power on who will lead the Tories at the general election. If this opportunity had been there before Brown’s arrival at Number 10 punters would have snapped up the 1/3 offered on Cameron’s survival. Now, after a string of seriously poor polls, it looks at bit different.

Political Betting

Trouble At T'Mill

I posted earlier in the week about the respective performances on Thursday of Wendy Alexander and Menzies Campbell, where I was fairly kind about Wendy and pretty scathing about Campbell. For the sake of a snappy headline, though, I suggested that this might have been Campbell's last outing as Lib Dem leader, something which seems to have raised at least one set of eyebrows - in retrospect, quite rightly as well.

Scots & Independence

Lessons from the Liberal conference

So what are the lessons of the Liberal conference? First up, get a bloody autocue already. We could have a blogger whipround. Out of all the speakers I saw on TV, excepting Ming's big finish, all of them were very obviously reading off a bit of paper. Danny Alexander's entire TV appearance consisted of him staring down at a script; not good. Nick Clegg was little better. The best performance was from a ginger Scottish guy called Kennedy; concise, punchy, addressing the crowd not the lectern. I wonder where we found him?

The Yorkshire Ranter

No comments: