Election 2015: Nick Robinson, one man who’d welcome a second election

Questions over 'undecided' QT voter

Posted at 13.14, Friday 1 May 2015

Was the BBC careful enough about vetting the “undecided voters” it invited to join the audience for last night’s Question Time special?

The question arises after a Leeds business owner, Catherine Shuttleworth, made the headlines in the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail this morning for “savaging” Ed Miliband and telling him he should have sacked Ed Balls.

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Shuttleworth told the press that she had applied to join the BBC audience as an undecided voter but “was now likely to vote Conservative”.

What the papers did not report, but which the Labour List website spotted, was that Shuttleworth was one of the 5,000 small business owners who signed the recent Karren Brady-led letter to the Telegraph praising the Tories and warning against Labour.

Labour List also made the point that Shuttleworth set up her marketing company, Savvy, with two other people, one of whom, Andrew Jones, was now the Tory MP for Harrogate.

The Telegraph did spot that Shuttleworth gave Tory Chancellor George Osborne a thumbs-up in the ‘spin room’ after last night’s QT special but - oddly in Labour List’s view - did not comment on this being strange behaviour for an “ordinary undecided voter”.

Labour List had earlier accused the Tories of “coordinated tweeting”: they found several MPs and party officials sending tweets, before Question Time had finished, using the same language: each praised Cameron for his “strong and commanding performance”.

Ed Miliband’s Scottish gamble

Posted at 12.50, Friday 1 May 2015

Will Ed Miliband’s appearance on the Question Time special be remembered for his stumble as he left the stage – or for his suggestion that he would rather not be prime minister than have to do a deal with the Scottish Nationalists?

His pledge is apparently based on the assumption that he doesn’t need to have a formal arrangement with the SNP because he can bank on them never voting with the Tories. The Mole reckons that’s a high-risk strategy.

Read The Mole’s column in full

Polling: who’s where after BBC special

Posted at 12.50, Friday 1 May 2015

A snap poll for The Guardian gave David Cameron “victory” in last night’s Question Time special, with 44 per cent of respondents saying he performed best, compared with 38 per cent going for Ed Miliband and 19 per cent for Nick Clegg.

Miliband, however, can take heart from the latest voting intention polls, both of which give Labour the lead. Panelbase puts Labour two points ahead of the Tories and YouGov one point.

As Don Brind writes, the rest of us might be relaxing this Bank Holiday weekend but party activists have their work cut out.

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Question Time audience 'too left-wing'

Posted at 11.10, Thursday 30 April 2015

If David Cameron is judged a flop in tonight’s BBC Question Time special, the Daily Telegraph has got his alibi in first: the audience will be “too left-wing”.

Christopher Hope, the Telegraph’s chief political correspondent, claims that “up to two-thirds of the audience” for the programnme, in which Cameron, Miliband and Clegg will each face questions separately, will be “left-wing”.

He claims the BBC’s decision to give each of the three main parties 25 per cent of the audience (the rest going to members of minor parties and undecided voters) exaggerates the proportion of people likely to vote Liberal Democrat.

• Question Time election special: the final TV showdown

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen tells the paper: “This confirms what we have known for a long time – the unashamed left-wing bias of the BBC.”

The BBC’s chief political adviser, Ric Bailey, defends the audience composition saying: “The thinking behind this is that it will ensure that there’s a level playing field. Each leader engages the audience on the same terms.”

He might also have said that anyone who calls all Lib Dems “left-wing” has a pretty odd idea about their party politics. But that would have been biased.

Read the Daily Telegraph article in full

How tonight’s Question Time will work

Danny Alexander leak: careful timing

Posted at 10.45, Thursday 30 April 2015

Danny Alexander made it clear on Radio 4’s Today programme that his leak to The Guardian of Tory plans in 2012 to radically cut child benefits was timed to cause Cameron maximum embarrassment in tonight’s Question Time election special.

If the Tories are not considering such cuts in order to save a promised £12 billion in welfare payments, then what cuts are they going to make, he asked. Perhaps Cameron will use tonight’s appearance to explain, said Alexander.

A Conservative spokesman has responded to Alexander’s leak by saying the party did not recognise any of the proposals and that "they are definitely not our policy".

But Alexander’s intervention should make the Tories’ £12bn promised welfare cuts the hot subject tonight.

Danny Alexander leak: The Week’s one-minute read

Don Brind: final nail in coalition coffin?

Boris calls wealth gap ‘outrageous’

Posted at 10.45, Thursday 30 April 2015

The current gap between rich and poor in Britain is “outrageous”. Ed Miliband talking? The Archbishop of Canterbury? No – it's Boris Johnson.

What’s more, the Mayor of London would like to put pressure on companies to pay better than minimum wage by refusing them government contracts if they don’t.

“It’s not reasonable for companies that have chief executives and board members who are paid very considerable sums to subsidise low pay through in-work benefits,” he says.

Johnson was talking to The Spectator - the magazine he once edited - which points out that he didn’t always talk like this.

“Just 18 months ago he was proclaiming that ‘some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity.’”

Like others in his party, says the Spectator, he has “revised his arguments” and now says that reducing inequality is the great Conservative mission.

Readers would be forgiven for asking whether Boris, favourite to replace David Cameron should the Tories lose on 7 May, is fighting this election or the next one.

Read The Spectator interview in full

Labour drop five in Ipsos-MORI poll

Posted at 10.45, Thursday 30 April 2015

A new voting intention poll due to be released today by Ipsos-MORI will reportedly show Labour taking a heavy fall.

Mike Smithson at Political Betting has tweeted that it will give the Tories a five per cent lead – a dramatic turnaround from last week when they trailed by four per cent. Amongst those certain to vote, Ipsos-MORI has: Con 35 (up 2), Lab 30 (down 5), Lib Dems 8 (up 1), Ukip 10 (u/c) , Greens 8 (u/c).

Another new poll gives the Tories a three-point lead. The survey for the May 2015 website has been carried out by BMG, a long-time social research company which is now moving into political polling. Their first poll shows: Con 35, Lab 32, Lib Dems 11, Ukip 14, Greens 3.

The Tories retake a narrow lead in the daily YouGov poll for The Sun: Con 35 (up 1), Lab 34 (down 1), Lib Dems 9 (unchanged), Ukip 12 (u/c), Greens 4 (u/c).

However, a four-point Tory lead in the ComRes/Daily Mail poll has disappeared over the past week.

The Conservatives are down one while Labour have advanced by three points to produce a tie at 35 per cent. Ukip are up one at 11 per cent, the Lib Dems down one at seven, the Greens up one at six.

Putin would vote for Dave not Ed

Posted at 12.00, Wed 29 April 2015

Tory minister Nick Boles said recently that Vladmir Putin would love to see Britain run by 'Red Ed' Miliband propped up by the Scottish Nationalists. But was he right?

In a round-the-world guide to how foreign leaders hope Britons will vote on 7 May – Germany for Miliband, Zimbabwe for Cameron - The Guardian reports that in Moscow the preference is actually for a Cameron victory.

“In general the Conservatives are a known evil, so even if our relations are not so good there will be an expectation that they won’t get any worse,” Sergei Utkin, an analyst working on Russian relations with EU countries told the paper

There’s also the attraction of the EU referendum keeping London and Brussels busy if the Tories get in: btter still, if it leads to us breaking with Europe.

“Britain leaving the EU would make both Britain and the EU much weaker, which those in the Russian leadership feel would be good for Russia,” said Utkin.

Read The Guardian article in full

Why Miliband took the Brand risk

Posted at 11.45, Wed 29 April 2015

The Tory-supporting papers have given Ed Miliband a roasting for giving an interview to Russell Brand, the comedian who advocates not voting. But was it a risk worth taking for the Labour leader, asks Don Brind.

Almost certainly Yes. It’s hard to get young people to turn out at elections, but if they do they’re more likely to vote Labour. By appearing on Brand’s YouTube TV “channel” – The Trews – Miliband gains access to voters other politicans cannot reach.

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Will Cameron regret ‘no tax rise’ pledge?

Posted at 11.45, Wed 29 April 2015

David Cameron’s out-of-the-blue promise to legislate against any tax rises during the next parliament – if he wins the election – could come back to haunt him and his Chancellor, George Osborne.

As The Mole writes, the government has only two levers to pull if it is trying to reduce the national deficit – spending cuts and tax rises. By removing one of them, there’s only way to go.

Cameron's pledge might win over some disillusioned vioters, but it's not impressing the economists.

Read The Mole’s column in full

Is Russell Brand set to endorse Ed?

Posted at 12.28, Tuesday 28 April 2015

Is the comedian Russell Brand set to endorse Ed Miliband as the man to vote for on 7 May? There’s considerable media speculation after the Labour leader was photographed leaving Brand’s home in east London last night.

Labour admits to the visit, but says the boss was just doing an interview for Brand’s YouTube TV channel, The Trews. “Ed was doing a media interview like he often does", said a spokesman, adding that the party "looked forward to it being broadcast".

But some commentators think Brand, who has famously advised young people not to vote, might be on the verge of backing Miliband.

The Daily Mail points out that the comedian recently admitted he liked the Labour leader and said he had been “bullied” because he was “wonky” and “doesn't come across as normal”.

Equally, Miliband recently defended Brand and admitted the comedian was saying “what a number of people are thinking”.

The Guardian’s political editor Patrick Wintour argues that an endorsement by Brand might prove a mixed blessing for Miliband. However, “the fact that the Labour leader was willing to go to his home to discuss politics suggests he thinks it may be a risk worth taking as he seeks to persuade young voters to turn out on election day.”

‘Dave Lively’: the new-look Cameron

Posted at 12.00, Tuesday 28 April 2015

Criticised for not being passionate enough on the election trail, David Cameron has suddenly turned up the heat, The Mole writes.

“I’m feeling pumped up,” Cameron tells The Times. “There’s ten days to go, it’s a bloody important election and I’m determined to get across the line. The line is victory — and victory is a Conservative majority. I know the polls are tight but victory is doable.”

The Times interview followed a campaign rally yesterday where, sweaty and flushed, Cameron told the audience he was "feeling bloody lively”.

Read The Mole’s column in full

Ashcroft gives Tories six-point lead

Posted at 12.00, Tuesday 28 April 2015

The polls are indeed tight – but three out of four new ones are giving the Conservatives a lead over Labour, Don Brind writes. They include an Ashcroft poll that puts the Tories six points ahead.

If these numbers are replicated on 7 May, the Conservatives have every hope of emerging the largest party. Just one problem: there probably won’t be enough Lib Dems MPs this time to make up the numbers and give David Cameron a working majority.

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Right to Buy is 'wrong for Britain'

Posted at 10.37, Monday 27 April 2015

David Cameron’s pledge to extend ‘Right to Buy’ to housing association tenants “could be one of the worst policy ideas ever” says Stephen Howlett, chief executive of Peabody, which owns and manages 27,000 homes across London.

“It would make the housing supply crisis worse, by removing housing associations’ capacity to build more homes,” says Howlett in an article for the Financial Times. “It would push up rents, by creating a buy-to-let bonanza.”

Housing associations are not public bodies, Howlett reminds readers. They are private organisations operating for a social and charitable purpose.

Because Peabody is financially strong — “able to borrow money against our property and the stream of income they produce in perpetuity” — it can reinvest in providing more affordable homes. Forcing Peabody to sell at a discount will only reduce its capacity to borrow and build.

In short, “Right to Buy is wrong for the country”.

Read Stephen Howlett’s FT article in full

Who won on Sunday? Boris or Ed?

Posted at 10.30, Monday 27 April 2015

The badinage between Ed Miliband and Boris Johnson on the BBC sofa at the end of the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning made for colourful television, Jack Bremer writes. But who “won” the exchange?

The BBC’s Nick Robinson, for one, says it was Miliband – and suggests the London mayor's underwhelming performance could have repurcussions.

“Wonder how many Tories still think Boris is their under-used secret weapon after this morning's performance on the Marr sofa?” Robinson tweeted afterwards.

Read Jack Bremer’s article in full

Are Tories wasting energy on Labour-SNP?

Posted at 10.30, Monday 27 April 2015

Why are the Tories persevering with their ferocious attack on the idea a Labour-SNP alliance at Westminster when Ed Miliband has insisted it won’t happen and, anyway, it’s a turn-off for voters?

Because, Don Brind writes, there’s a niche vote at stake: up to eight per cent of the electorate haven’t decided to vote Tory but could be persuaded to do so because they don’t like the idea of the Scottish Nationalists having any influence at Westminster.

And with the race as tight as it is, eight per cent is a number to be reckoned with.

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Fetch Boris, say Tory donors

Posted at 08.47, Sunday 26 April 2015

Two Conservative donors have gone public to attack the party’s election campaign as “utterly cynical” and “not the slightest bit inspiring” – and to call for Boris Johnson to take over from David Cameron immediately if the Tories lose the election on 7 May.

Investment manager Peter Hall, who has given almost £600,000 to the Conservatives over the last ten years, criticised Cameron’s “curious lack of energy and belief in his campaign” and urged him to “unleash visceral passion and belief in his vision of the future” in the ten days remaining.

But if Cameron loses, Boris Johnson should be allowed to take over immediately, said Hall. “He does have an emotional connection with the public at large. They do sense his Churchillian spirit and that he is dauntless.”

Pizza Express entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, another big donor, agreed. “If there is going to be a new leader of the Tory party if they don’t win, you’d really have to give Boris a go. They haven’t had an inspiring leader since Thatcher.”

Team Boris tried to cool down the Sunday Times story. “This is total bollocks, it is the stuff of pure fantasy,” a friend of the London mayor said. “Dave is going to win. People should grow up, shut up, and get behind Dave.”

Read the Sunday Times article in full

Polls give Labour the edge

Posted at 08.45, Sunday 26 April 2015

Latest polling suggests those Tory donors (above) are right to be anxious.

YouGov for the Sunday Times has Labour two points ahead: Con 32, Lab 34, Lib Dems 9, Ukip 14, Greens 6.

Opinium for The Observer has the Tories slipping three points from last week, and Labour up a point: Con 34, Lab 33, Lib Dems 9, Ukip 13, Greens 6.

This, says the paper, may well encourage the Labour party to believe that the momentum is behind Ed Miliband - especially given the Labour leader is scoring better in his personal ratings, too.

In one week he’s advance from minus 18 to minus 13 while Cameron has fallen back from a zero score to minus 4.

Will Lib Dems get what they want?

Posted at 08.45, Sunday 26 April 2015

Are the Lib Dems shouting above their weight? Nick Clegg was laying down the law yesterday about who the Lib Dems were prepared to do business with in the event of a hung parliament, while Vince Cable was suggesting he should take over from George Osborne as Chancellor if there’s a second coalition between his party and the Tories.

Clegg, in an interview with the Financial Times, ruled out accepting any invitation from Labour if Miliband’s party was relying on “life support” from the SNP.

Cable, meanwhile, told the Mail on Sunday that he was ready to “stomach” another five years of coalition with the Tories. Ignoring the fact that his politics are considerably to the left of Osborne’s, he also made it clear he covets his Cabinet colleague’s job.

“I’m up for having a substantial role. My prime interest is the economy. There are two economic departments in Whitehall and I’ve done one of them for five years. I’ll leave you to do the maths.”

And yet all the polls points to Clegg’s party being reduced from 57 MPs to 25-30 on 7 May - and one of those who could lose their seat is Clegg himself, in Sheffield Hallam.

Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer says there’s a danger neither the Tories nor Labour – whichever is the largest party – would make the Lib Dems a good enough offer to make coalition worth accepting.

Rich List and rent controls: divided Britain

Posted at 08.45, Sunday 26 April 2015

On the weekend Ed Miliband announces that Labour will re-introduce rent controls – making it illegal for private landlords to increase rent by more than inflation - the Sunday Times publishes its annual Rich List.

And it shows that the richest 1,000 people based in Britain have more than doubled their combined wealth since 2009.

Just to make it on to the list, you now need to have a minimum of £100 million – way up from the 2009 threshold of £45m.

Britain’s richest man is Len Blavatnik, born in Ukraine. His investments in music, industry and media make him worth £13.17 billion.

The “average” Briton, the Sunday Times reports, earns £25,000 and “would have to toil for 526,800 years to amass that much wealth”.

Read the Sunday Times report in full

FTSE bosses unimpressed by Tory campaign

Posted at 11.30, Friday 24 April 2015

Twenty FTSE 100 chiefs have told the Financial Times they are frustrated at David Cameron’s failure to open up a serious lead over Labour in the opinion polls.

There is concern in British boardrooms, says the paper, that Ed Miliband is mounting a stronger challenge than expected and that the negative campaigning by the Tories has been “disastrous”.

“The strength of the performance of the coalition in terms of delivering real growth and real jobs has become almost background noise,” said one company chairman. Another boss asked: “Why not play the positive economic note? There is a good story to tell.”

Senior Conservatives have reportedly rejected the business leaders’ criticism, arguing that the party’s main weapon – attacking the prospect of the SNP propping up Labour - is "playing well on the doorstep".

And as Don Brind writes, two new opinion polls suggest the Tories could be on to a winner with this tactic. Though two other new polls still show Labour in the lead.

Read the Financial Times report in full

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Tory fury at Miliband’s Libya attack

Posted at 10.45, Friday 24 April 2015

Ed Miliband’s office has been forced to deny that in a speech due to be delivered later today he was going to blame David Cameron for the deaths of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean.

In the address, he was expected to say that the tragedies at sea were a direct result of the failure of post-conflict planning following Cameron’s decision to join the French in attacking Libya in 2011.

One Tory source called the remarks “provocative and shameful” and not becoming of “a prime minister” – but which the source presumably meant a potential prime minister.

Read The Mole’s column in full

All parties guilty of ignoring productivity crisis, says FT

Posted at 12.52, Thursday 23 April 2015

On the day the IFS released its analysis of the parties’ election pledges – criticising the Tories for their £30bn black hole, and Labour for its vague plans to reduce the deficit – the Financial Times says none of the main parties is addressing the real economic issue: restoring productivity growth.

“If Britain’s productivity crisis persists,” says the FT’s Chris Giles, “the result will be weak growth and more austerity. Imagine Italy without the food or sun.”

Giles offers three solutions, all of which the main parties have chosen to ignore.

Housing: Britain has a huge need for decent housing and a huge supply of unused land where people want to live. Not one party had dared suggest compulsory purchase orders to buy developable land.

Airports: Properly regulated airport expansion is “an easy way to guarantee growth”, says Giles. But will the next government allow a new runway at Heathrow? Not one party has made such a commitment in its manifesto.

Taxation: “Regardless of the level of taxes, clearer and simpler structures encourage people to get on with productive work rather than wasting time trying to arrange their affairs in a way that minimises the tax they pay.” Yet none of the parties is prepared to seek fiscal simplicity.

“Although our political leaders talk a lot about improving the economy,” Giles concludes, “when you scratch the surface, it becomes clear that they prefer to pander to vested interests.”

Read Chris Giles’s FT article in full

Read The Week's report on the IFS ratings

Is SNP an issue in England? Yes and No

Posted at 12.30, Thursday 23 April 2015

Radio 4 Today presenter John Humphrys raised eyebrows this morning when he told Chancellor George Osborne that the issue of the SNP propping up a minority Miliband government was not having an impact on voters. “Nobody mentions the SNP on the doorsteps,” said Humphrys.

Times columnist Tim Montgomerie was quick to counter via Twitter: “John Humphrys to George Osborne: no one is mentioning SNP on the doorstep. Simply not true according to many candidates I talk to.'

Daily Mail political editor James Chapman agreed. “I've been on stump and people raising spontaneously. Quentin Letts found same in Anna Soubry's seat ystdy.”

But Humphrys appeared to be in the right when, later in the programme, he sat down with three voters in Nuneaton. Not one of them considered the SNP an issue. Perhaps of more concern to party managers - not one of them was sure how to vote on 7 May.

Nicola Sturgeon’s nightmare

Posted at 12.30, Thursday 23 April 2015

Has Nicola Sturgeon played her cards correctly by ruling out any support of the Tories? Or is she in danger of letting Ed Miliband win over the Scots with his left-ish agenda?

Don Brind argues today that if Labour emerge the largest party from the general elkection, Miliband’s policies could become popular north of the border and persuade a greater majority of Scots to think twice before voting for independence.

Read Don Brind’s column in full

Has George Osborne gone over the top?

Posted at 12.30, Thursday 23 April 2015

Has Chancellor George Osborne overstepped the mark by quoting foreign investment bankers warning against a Labour-SNP majority “running” Britain after the election?

As The Mole writes, there would be outrage if British institutions urged voters in a US presidential election not to vote Democrat. It’s just not done.

Read The Mole’s column in full

Cameron's heart not in it, Tory donor claims

Posted at 09.08, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Is David Cameron’s heart really in this election campaign? Two senior election commentators have raised the issue overnight on Twitter.

Andrew Neil, presenter of the BBC’s Daily Politics show, wrote: “Spoke to major Tory donor tonight. ‘Tory campaign useless. Cameron's heart not in it. Not looking good’.”

To which The Times columnist Tim Montgomerie responded: “DC has wanted out for a while. He has just wanted to go out on some sort of high and hasn't been able to find that high.”

Mike Smithson at Political Betting has blogged: “This is not the sort of message that the Tories want to come out just two weeks before the big day and at a key moment with postal voters.

“The danger now is just as Labour’s likely reliance on the SNP is dominating the campaign, speculation about Cameron’s staying power could change the narrative.”

Read the Political Betting blog in full

Left-wing populism ‘could take Ed to No 10’

Posted at 09.00, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Never mind whether David Cameron has the stomach for the fight – Ed Miliband looks set to become prime minister on a wave of left-wing populism, Fraser Nelson argues for The Spectator.

Gone is the pragmatic New Labour era which sought to appeal as much to employers as to workers. “In its place comes the politics of division: a Britain of tenants vs landlords, rich vs poor... Miliband [will] break up banks, interfere with pay and make it easier for workers to sue their bosses.”

And here’s the rub: even Miliband’s critics must now admit, says Nelson, that the creed is not just populist but popular. “A new angry brigade is emerging, and Conservatives underestimate it at their peril.”

Read Fraser Nelson’s Spectator article in full

Half a million sign up to vote

Posted at 09.00, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Nearly half a million people registered to vote in the 24 hours before the deadline passed at midnight on Monday, breaking the previous single-day record by more than 300,000, Wired reports.

It’s possibly good news for Ed Miliband because the majority were younger people who are more likely to vote Labour.

Of the 469,047 who went online to register, 152,000 were aged 25 to 34, 137,000 were aged 16-24 and 89,500 were aged 35 to 44.

The total who signed themselves up on Monday was the equivalent of well over 750 people for each parliamentary constituency. If they folloiw up by actually voting on 7 May, turnout could well be up on 2010, perhaps in the 70 per cent region.

Read the Wired report in full

Goldman Sachs issues Labour warning

Posted at 08.30, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Goldman Sachs has warned that a Labour victory on 7 May is likely to spark a sell-off by investors, the Financial Times reports.

The US investment bank says Labour’s plans to freeze energy bills, increase the top tax rate to 50p and scrap zero-hours contracts are all likely to alarm investors and that, should Labour be reliant on the SNP to stay in power, the party could be dragged further to the left.

Meanwhile Boris Johnson has told the same paper that Ed Miliband is “the most left-wing Labour leader since Michael Foot” with policies that should “curdle the blood of all FT readers”.

The Tory mayor of London said Labour policies such as abolishing non-dom status and raising the top rate of income tax were “acts of spite” because there was no evidence they would raise money for the Exchequer.

Miliband, he said, has “a crazed desire to punish bankers and express his hostility to what he sees as casino capitalism”.

Read the FT article in full

Shapps denies Wikipedia accusation

Posted at 08.30, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Wikipedia has blocked a user account that it suspects is being operated by Tory chairman Grant Shapps “or someone acting on his behalf” to edit his own entry and change those of his political rivals, The Guardian reports.

On Shapps’s own page, a user called ‘Contribsx’ has systematically removed embarrassing to his business activities as millionaire web marketer ‘Michael Green’.

The same user has made “unflattering” changes to the entries of some of Shapps’s Tory rivals, including Cabinet members Philip Hammond and Justine Greening and election strategist Lynton Crosby.

“Sock-puppetry” – the creation of a fake online identity “for an improper purpose, such as to mislead other editors, disrupt discussions, distort consensus or avoid sanctions” – is not permitted by Wikipedia.

Shapps said last night that the claim was “categorically false and defamatory… and was quite likely dreamt up by the Labour press office.”

Read The Guardian article in full

Tally-ho-hum: Marr unfair to Cameron

Posted at 08.30, Tuesday 21 April 2015

It seems Andrew Marr was unfair to the Prime Minister on Sunday when he challenged him over his supposed love of hunting.

“You told the Countryside Alliance your favourite sport is fox hunting. Is that really true?” asked Marr. When Cameron stumbled and looked frankly surprised, Marr repeated the question.

The Daily Mail now reports that Cameron had very reason to be surprised – because he had never said any such thing.

What the PM had written in an article for the Countryside Alliance magazine was: “There is definitely a rural way of life which a born and bred Londoner might struggle to understand…

“The Hunting Act has done nothing for animal welfare. A Conservative Government will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government Bill in government time.”

Marr says it was a BBC cock-up, not a conspiracy. But the Mail reports: “The interview still left the impression that Cameron's love of the tally-ho brigade went much further, reinforcing the view of him as an out-of-touch Old Etonian toff.”

Read the Daily Mail article in full

Cameron attacked for ‘talking up’ SNP

Posted at 11.00, Tues 21 April 2015

Lord Forsyth, a respected former Tory Scottish Secretary, has criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for “talking up” the SNP, The Mole writes.

While it might be helpful to see Labour potentially losing so many seats to the Nationalists, it’s “a short-term and dangerous view which threatens the integrity of our country”, Forsyth said.

The Tory peer, once a confidant of Margaret Thatcher's, also congratulated Ed Miliband for the “brave” way in which he stood up to Sturgeon in last week’s TV debate and criticised Osborne for praising Sturgeon’s performance.

Read The Mole’s column in full

Latest polls: it’s all very average

Posted at 11.00, Tues 21 April 2015

The six-point Tory lead that caused considerable excitement a week ago has evaporated: ICM’s latest poll shows the Tories have fallen five points back.

It’s one of four new polls that prove a mixed bag: two have the Tories ahead, two have Labour in the lead. What matters, writes Don Brind, is the polling average. And they show the two parties still basically neck-and-neck with 16 days to go.

Read Don Brind’s column in full