Posts Tagged “george osborne”
Osborne’s budget: who reckons the Lib Dems would have cheered it if we’d still been in government?
by Stephen Tall on July 9, 2015
View image | gettyimages.com A couple of months ago I highlighted a potential pitfall for the Lib Dems of assuming the post-Coalition Tories would “revert to type, that their swivel-eyed, nut-job element will triumph”: For the past five years, David (…)
The Economist is right. Liberalism is winning. Which could be bad news for the Lib Dems in 2020
by Stephen Tall on May 19, 2015
“Mr Clegg lost not because liberalism is under threat but because it has become mainstream.” That’s the striking, counter-intuitive conclusion of this week’s Economist, examining the reasons for the massacre of Lib Dems at the polls: Another explanation for the (…)
The polls in 2014: what they show with 133 days left til 7 May 2015
by Stephen Tall on December 24, 2014
The final polls of the year have been published — getting on for 500 have been commissioned in 2014 — and their story is told in the graph below. It shows Labour’s declining (down from c.38% to c.33%), the Tories static (at c.32%), Ukip on the rise (up from c.12% to c.16%), and the Lib […]
My top 3 Budget 2014 requests
by Stephen Tall on March 19, 2014
ConservativeHome asked me for some top lines about my wishes for George Osborne’s fifth budget today. Here they are… My top three requests: 1) No surprise this one: an increase in the personal allowance to £10,500 take more of the (…)
Marriage tax breaks: Lib Dem members oppose Conservative plans by 62% to 22%
by Stephen Tall on January 26, 2014
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 750 party members responded – thank you – and we’ve been publishing the full results. (There were a couple of results I ran out of time to […]
The Autumn Statement and the unreal economic debate in which everyone pretends the Coalition stuck to ‘Plan A’
by Stephen Tall on December 5, 2013
It’s autumn statement day. George Osborne will stand at the despatch box of the House of Commons this afternoon and present his pre-budget report. The Guardian’s Martin Kettle sums up what it’s all about: For the Conservatives, today is about redefining themselves – in the face of a run of seriously disappointing polls – as […]
The Autumn Statement and the unreal economic debate in which everyone pretends the Coalition stuck to ‘Plan A’
by Stephen Tall on December 5, 2013
It’s autumn statement day. George Osborne will stand at the despatch box of the House of Commons this afternoon and present his pre-budget report. The Guardian’s Martin Kettle sums up what it’s all about: For the Conservatives, today is about redefining themselves – in the face of a run of seriously disappointing polls – as […]
Nice try, George. But the Pupil Premium is happening only because the Lib Dems are in government
by Stephen Tall on September 30, 2013
Who has made sure the Pupil Premium is being delivered in Government? Pretty straightforward question, you might think: the Liberal Democrats. Not if you’re George Osborne, though… “I sit at that Cabinet table and I know who has really put forward the policies that are delivering a fairer society. The pupil premium to support the […]
The Tories’ 35% strategy shows they know they cannot win outright in 2015
by Stephen Tall on July 12, 2013
“The 35% Strategy”. The phrase was initially coined by Dan Hodges to decry the Labour leader’s soft-left leadership: Forget the One Nation strategy, Ed Miliband is pursuing what is known within his inner circle as the 35 Per Cent Strategy. Come 2015, he thinks he can stagger over the line with 35 per cent of […]
