tagged w/ general election
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In the run up to General Election those looking for further help in selecting the party leader for them may wish to consider the results of an analysis of the three party leader's handwriting.
Analysis found that Gordon Brown ''won't be told what to do'', David Cameron is ''skilled at talking his way in and out of things'' and Nick Clegg can ''get what he wants without aggression''.
Graphologist Elaine Quigley analysed samples of the three men's writing for Cosmopolitan magazine, without being told whose they were or even that they were politicians.
The analysis was carried out as part of Cosmopolitan's High Heel Vote edition, in which the three leaders spoke to a group of readers about their plans and answered the magazine's famous questionnaire detailing their likes and dislikes.
When describing their wives greatest faults Mr Brown said ''being untidy'', Mr Cameron ''making an appalling mess in the kitchen'' and Mr Clegg ''smoking the occasional cigarette''.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7391010/Cameron-Brown-and-Cleggs-handwriting-analysed.htmlIn the run up to General Election those looking for further help in selecting the... more
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Since the news broke that 6 Music is at great risk of closure to save the BBC money, fans of the station have gathered in droves to demand it's left on air. A true sign that it's officially reached 'public outrage-level', even that couple behind the Rage Against The Machine Christmas number one single have even got involved, starting a Facebook group called 'Save BBC 6 Music' that's attracted nearly 80,000 members.
At this stage, any culture minister who is mere months away from a general election begins to think carefully about which side of the fence he wants to stand on. Why, the popular one, of course! But what if you've already publicly welcomed the BBC's proposed package of cuts? If you're the Conservative's shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey, it's no trouble at all. Just do a massive U-turn within days of course!
In an email response to a member of the public who wrote to him in support of saving 6 Music, Vaizey admitted he'd never actually listened to the station before all the fuss kicked up but is now an "avid listener" since checking it out. In a surprisingly (and credit where it's due - refreshingly) honest email, Vaizey explained how he supported the debate surrounding the BBC's operations but wanted 6 Music saved:
"I decided to support the general thrust of the proposals [for the BBC to undertake a strategic review] in public because there are others who want the BBC to go much further in terms of reducing their service. I thought it would be helpful to the BBC to signal that their efforst - in trying to reduce the scope of some of their services - were reduced," he said, before going on to praise the station.
"Anyway, several things have happened since I spoke out. I am now an avid listener of 6 Music. I suspect that 6 Music has doubled its audience. I strongly suspect 6 Music will be saved."
As much as I admire Vaizey for being so frank about his lack of 6 Music awareness, it's a little troubling that the man who could soon be Britain's culture secretary hadn't ever listened to such a fantastic station that over 600,000 people enjoy weekly. With his claimed new-found love comes the obvious question: is the admiration genuine or a cynical ploy to avoid unpopularity so close to the election?
Since the news broke that 6 Music is at great risk of closure to save the... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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Allegations that Gordon Brown won't be winning any Boss Of The Year awards don't seem to have damaged Labour's chances of a recovery, according to latest opinion poll results.
In recent days the Tories' lead has tightened, making a hung parliament look fairly likely, two opinion polls showed.
// What is a hung parliament? When no single political party has a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. If this hapens, the Tories and Labour will seek to form a coalition with the Lib Dems, something which Nick Clegg has said he's not keen on. / /
A Guardian/ICM poll published today has support for the Tories down by 3 points, at 37%. Labour is up 1 point from last month to 30% and the Lib Dems fell 1 point to 20%.
A separate YouGov poll published by the Sun puts the Tories on 39%, Labour on 33% and the Lib Dems on 17%.
Does any of this mean Labour still have a chance of winning the election? The Conservatives are still the bookies favourite to win, by far, but after a crippling recession, hugely unpopular walls, bank bailouts and bonuses and a media backlash against Labour, the fact the Tories face a hung parliament suggests to me that the British public may have lost a lot of faith in politics in general. After all, does anybody really think the Conservative party would have acted any differently when it came to going to war or bailing the banks out? It can feel like a vote for one party is a vote for all in this country so perhaps the deciding factor for many voters will simply be how much they crave change, and whether change from a different party in government will be better than giving the present bunch another chance.
Allegations that Gordon Brown won't be winning any Boss Of The Year... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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A new book accuses Gordon Brown of bullying staff, the National Bullying Helpline's patron quits over the "breach of confidentiality by the organisation" and Labour goes into overdrive to kill the story. But could the claims actually gain the party more votes?
This weekend, The Observer relaunched with a pretty astonishing front page story: Gordon Brown, according to a new book being published (by an Observer staffer), bullied Number 10 staff so fiercely that the head of the civil service had to have a stern chat with him.
It's a fairly amazing claim but one that Brown's team could have played down much faster and more effectively than they did. The timing of the article was perfect, coming just weeks after Brown gave a series of interviews in which he talked about his softer side, but Number 10 could have claimed The Observer was clutching at straws because they needed a great story to relaunch with and the fact the book is written by an Observer writer and not one of Gordon Brown's staff could have been used to question the validity of the claim. It's not even that easy to picture Gordon Brown, politic's least exciting man after John Major, showing any kind of real emotion. All mentions of Brown's "violent outbursts" read like something out of an SAS book or a celebrity-written novel. Seriously, read the following quote from the book. Does this sound like the Gordon Brown we see doing that weird O-face during speeches on TV?
"When Brown was accused of plagiarising phrases used by Al Gore and Bill Clinton in his 2007 conference speech, the prime minister screamed at a shaking Shrum: "How could you do this to me, Bob? How could you fucking do this to me?"
A senior adviser on foreign affairs, Stewart Wood, found himself on the end of a similarly shocking volley of verbal abuse when he attempted to brief the prime minister about a Downing Street reception for European ambassadors. "Why have I got to meet these fucking people?" he yelled at Wood. "Why are you making me meet these fucking people?" Brown then roughly shoved aside the stunned adviser."
Peter Mandelson then appeared on Andrew Marr's BBC show to defend the PM but gave such a weak denial that he may as well have worn a t-shirt saying "Help, the man's a psychopath!"
He told Marr: "''I don't think he so much bullies people as he is very demanding of people." and that Brown was ''a man who is quite emotional, is quite passionate in what be believes and what he is doing... who gets angry but chiefly with himself, who doesn't bully people. He is demanding of himself, he is demanding of people around him, he knows what he wants to do, he does not like taking no for an answer from anyone."
On Sunday evening, things got worse for Brown when Christine Pratt, the founder of the National Bullying Helpline, said she has received calls from staff in the PM's office. Labour have gone on attack over the claims, pointing out that Pratt received calls of support from Tory MPs over the Brown claims. Pratt has defended herself against allegations of political bias and breaching the trust of complainants since going public but this morning the patron of the National Bullying Helpline resigned over the confidentiality issue.
Professor Cary Cooper, a celebrated expert on workplace bullying, said:
" I am resigning now on the grounds that I think she breached confidentiality. She did not reveal any names, but that is irrelevant. She is revealing the employer, which is No 10. I just think that is wholly wrong and inappropriate. You don't do that. I can no longer be a patron."
[Edit: bloggers have questioned the authenticity of the National Bullying Helplinehr and pointed out that the helpline website shows a supportive message from David Cameron and links through to a work mediation business).
Brown has, of course, denied he's a bully or violent:
Has this story blown Brown's election chances or is this something he can come back from? Do you think there may be some truth in the allegations?
Do you think the Gordon Brown bullying allegations are true?(polls)
Interestingly, this could help humanise Brown. After his now infamous Piers Morgan interview, in which the Prime Minister appeared to cry over the death of his baby daughter, a national survey by the polling firm YouGov found that Labour's share if the vote rose to 33%, against the Conservatives' 39% and the Lib Dems' 17%. In the same poll, when asked specifically about Brown's tears, 64% said they agreed that "politicians should display genuine emotion more frequently". Is there a chance the angry, shouty Brown will receive as similar poll boost as the heartbroken, sensitive Brown?
A new book accuses Gordon Brown of bullying staff, the National Bullying... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will make political history by going head to head in Brtain's first live prime ministerial TV debates before next year's general election.
ITV will host the first debate, which will be presented by Alastair Stewart.
Sky News will go second with political editor Adam Boulton in the chair.
The third and final BBC debate will be fronted by Question Time presenter David Dimbleby.
The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, like the ugly, ignored kid at a school disco, have complained about their exclusion and say the arrangement was an attempt to rig the election.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/21/political-leaders-live-tv-debateGordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will make political history by going head... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with the British public, who believe the Conservatives would govern for the well-off and are not an attractive alternative to Labour.
In a remarkable snapshot of national opinion just months ahead of the general election, a ComRes poll for The Independent found that people disagree with the statement that "the Conservative Party offers an appealing alternative to the Labour Party", by a margin of 49 to 45 per cent.David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with the British public, who believe the... more
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David Cameron sparked Tory fury by announcing he will impose all-women shortlists on constituencies selecting General Election candidates.
In a major U-turn, the Tory leader said he will force some local parties to choose a woman candidate if their MP stands down in the next few months.
The initiative was seen by some at Westminster as a cynical attempt by Mr. Cameron to burnish his image as a reformer, following weeks in which he has embraced a more traditional Tory message.
But he insisted the policy change was needed to increase the number of female Tory MPs, currently just 19 out of 195.
He said the lack of women and ethnic minority MPs was damaging for Parliament, adding: 'It's been an even greater problem for my party and one I desperately want to address and have tried to address.'
The move provoked an immediate backlash. Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe described all-women shortlists as 'an insult to women'.
She said: 'It will do women no good at all. Every woman in parliament should be able to look every man in the eye and know she got there on exactly the same basis.
We couldn't agree more.David Cameron sparked Tory fury by announcing he will impose all-women shortlists on... more
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Those crafty chaps at Tory HQ have found a cunning way to get around UK election laws that would prevent them from airing party ads on TV and radio. And that way is... Spotify!
Yes, Dave and the boys will be buying up advertising spots on the Swedish music streaming service (y'know they also have non-Swedish music, it's not just ABBA, The Cardigans and Ace of Base!)
Even more cunningly, they're intending to target the adverts based on the location of the listener - doing this on a postcode basis. Quite a clever way of highlighting local issues - which tend to strike a chord with the electorate more than national and international ones.
Only flaw in the plan is that Spotify, although popular with many, is hardly a mass market medium.Those crafty chaps at Tory HQ have found a cunning way to get around UK election laws... more
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Well, I finally met Cathy Church - who is running as an independent candidate for Marquette County Prosecutor.
A friend of a friend asked me to post her stuff because running an Independent means you need all the goodwill and support you can get.
I have nothing against the two major political parties - but I respect the gusto of people who do it on their own - thus are not beholding to the powers that be.
Tho I tend to vote Democrat - I never vote a straight ticket - because I like to choose the best person in each race - Democrat, Republican, Independent or any of the more obscure parties.
Plus Cathy Church is tough on domestic violence and one of my many projects fights family abuse.
During 14 years as an assistant prosecutor, Church sent numerous domestic violence offenders to jail. I have covered way too many murders and MI and GA that were the result of domestic violence.
Tho the victims are - by far - mainly female - there are some male victims of domestic violence.
As a guest of the non-profit Turtle Island Project, Lakota domestic violence activist Tillie Black Bear was speaking in Marquette recently - and that's where I met a friend of a friend who knew Cathy.
It's kind of ironic how I finally met Cathy Church.
I was telling a fishing buddy that I was posting info about her Independent campaign for prosecutor - and as the words came out of my mouth - there was Cathy's campaign vehicle and her mother.
We turned around - met Cathy - and I ended up taping an interview with her on Halloween.
That two part interview will be posted next.
This video is Cathy's message to the people about why they should choose an Independent candidate for Marquette County Prosecutor - instead of a longtime and powerful incumbent.
Church for Prosecutor website:
http://www.ChurchForProsecutor.com
Well, I finally met Cathy Church - who is running as an independent candidate for... more
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has confirmed he will call an early general election.
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the prime minister, said voting would be held on 14 October.
Mr Harper had hinted in recent weeks that elections were inevitable to break a deadlock with opposition parties on several key issues.
His Conservative Party was elected in 2006, but does not have an overall majority in parliament.
The prime minister will meet with Governor-General Michaelle Jean on Sunday morning to ask for parliament's dissolution - which would lead to the third national election in just over three years.
The Governor-General represents Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, whose formal approval is needed to dissolve parliament.
The call for elections comes days after a poll which showed the Conservative government to be leading in the polls after a surge in popularity.
They need to win an additional 28 seats to have a majority in parliament, and analysts say they have a better chance of doing so now rather than waiting until the opposition decides to call a vote.
Mr Harper's Conservatives ended 12 years of Liberal government after elections in 2006.
His party claimed 36% of the popular vote by promising to cut taxes, fight crime, boost military spending and to repair relations with the US.
He went on to form a minority administration, but has been dogged by clashes with opposition parties, whose agreement he needed to pass legislation.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has confirmed he will call an... more
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Vote YES on the California High Speed Rail Bond Measure in the November general election!
Vote YES on the California High Speed Rail Bond Measure in the November general... more
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Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are already drawing up strategies for taking each other on in the general election, focusing on the same groups — including independent voters and Latinos — and about a dozen states where they think the contest is likely to be decided this fall, campaign aides said.Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are already drawing up strategies for taking... more
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