Monday 24 November 2008

Pre-Budget Report: Mark the Sequel

How do you like that fine old Tory campaigning poster (left) c. 1929?
Meanwhile, curious... Looking around the news sites this evening I learn that the BBC's online 'live text' coverage of the PBR was punctuated by citations of assorted bloggers, and that at 15:26 they edited together (rather sloppily) a chunk from my earlier post of today and stuck it up, amid comments from MPs and more regular/zealous political bloggers.
It's curious, too, to see the way this BBC coverage has since been combed by blogosphere invigilators, conspicuously Conservative (and calling their soul their own, one hopes) - one of whom I take to be the Mike Rouse who added a comment to that earlier post of mine, asserting that Cameron's 'bashing' in the polls was actually no such thing. It just goes to show that Cameron's Tories really boss the web these days when it comes to its coverage of politics.
I daresay it also goes to show why I'm not to be counted as a regular/zealous political blogger in the modern-day manner: namely, I don't belong to any party and I don't look at polls every day. I understand the latest from ICM has the Tories back up to 11 points in front? Over the last week I saw other polls had them variously in front by 3 or 5. But back at the start of October, weren't there Tory leads of 19 or 20?
Yeah, so I think I'll stand by my story - Cameron's lead has, on the whole, taken a bit of a bashing in the last eight weeks, so disturbing his composure somewhat, and hastened the striking of a few postures that he surely wouldn't have struck if matters had kept proceeding effortlessly in his favour post-Conference.
Meanwhile, the FT's sad verdict on the day's Big Question: "The route back to financial sustainability was unconvincing – both as individual measures and taken as a whole."
The FT also offers some succour for all those Tory watchmen who fear the slightest misunderstanding of their Party's no-doubt coherent, principled and undyingly popular (cf. ICM) stand in opposition to that shower of Scots taxers-and-spenders in government: "It is clear that the current strangeness in British politics of Labour proposing tax cuts while the Tories oppose them will be short-lived. The battle lines for the next election will again see Labour accused of increasing taxes to pay for its profligacy, despite the restraint implied in yesterday’s figures, while the Conservatives will face charges of slashing public services."
There you go then - business as usual. Now I'm just going to write a quick something about Guns n' Roses, which - with a bit of luck - might even provoke some Heavy Metal blogger/master of blogs out there to stick up a Comment in rebuttal, insisting that the best track on the album is actually 'Shackler's Revenge'...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You take me incorrectly, sir. I am not a member of any political party, so your assertion that I am one of Cameron's Tories bossing the web is factually incorrect.

However, I did happen to glimpse a couple of opinion polls lately and notice a recent Ipos Mori poll places the Conservatives up 3 to 43% and Labour down 5.

Can you tell me when we might expect to see this so-called bashing you droned on about in a previous blog post? The facts suggest otherwise.

Richard T Kelly said...

Never said you were a Tory member, how would I know, or care? But give over with the play-acting: you seem highly fond of them, and you're invigilating their polling fortunes pretty keenly. It's clear the only reason you came to look here was due to a shred of something you saw cited on the BBC site that struck you as germane to your special interests. Anyhow, as I said (and very briefly - you want to get your lugs tested if you're hearing some droning noise), in recent weeks and as of PBR day the extent of Cameron's LEAD had taken a bashing from its late-summer peak. Where it goes from here I wouldn't guess, it's not my thing, but it's something for you to talk over with your pals.