Week of Apr 28 – May 4
By Steve Parkhurst, Senior Editor, USDR.
Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.
5-4-15
Ed Miliband’s manifesto monolith ‘is a Kinnock moment’
In grandiose gesture, Labour leader unveils eight-foot limestone monolith to show his vows are “carved in stone”
Western leaders are staying away from this year’s Victory Day, which mourns the loss of 20 million Russians who died to defeat Nazi Germany
What difference will this election make to jobs, wages and prices?
The Conservatives have seen the choice for the election as a simple one. Do you want the Conservative team to continue, who have presided over a decent recovery, with 2 million new jobs and now rising real incomes? Or do you want to hand the keys back to the people who crashed the car in the first place? Labour in its last period in government put up unemployment and brought down real incomes with a jolt.
5-3-15
Sunday Telegraph: Vote in the national interest. Vote Conservative
Telegraph View: Labour offers socialism and chaotic government. David Cameron wants to build a strong future with common sense policies. We would urge our readers to back the Tories in this election
David Cameron: Britain is now the success story of Europe
There is only one way to deliver the things that matter – and that’s with a strong economy
Nigel Farage, Douglas Carswell and Tim Aker on Ukip’s chances with five days to go
Ukip has four key target seats in Essex and Kent it hopes to win on Thursday. In order of likelihood of victory, Clacton, Rochester & Strood, South Thanet and Thurrock are the constituencies to watch on election night. I visited three of these seats yesterday, to find out how each of the candidates are feeling about the impending election, as well as their predictions of how well Ukip will do.
‘My name is Milibandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
The Labour leader has commissioned an eight foot limestone monument to his own manifesto, to be erected in Downing Street. No, really.
Why I trust in the voters to use their common sense
The Tories’ election campaign has been far from flawless, yet Ed Miliband’s flirtation with the politics of the hard Left will surely see him undone
5-2-15
Mr Cameron is at his best at one minute to midnight
The Prime Minister showed his fighting spirit during the Question Time interrogation – but has it come too late?
The Tories are now the party of the many — Labour is the party of the few
If Cameron loses on 7 May, those who can least afford it will suffer most.
The Tories should be proud of welfare reform
Telegraph View: Conservative welfare reforms are popular with the public, yet the Tories won’t trumpet them. They might think they are playing it safe – but they are actually missing a big opportunity
Welcome to Miliband country: how Labour would wreck rural life
The manifestos of a potential ‘progressive alliance’ pose a profound threat to the countryside
We need leaders to fix London’s daily problems
Will London notice who wins the election? I only ask since this week we’ve been reminded again of some of the daily problems facing Londoners, to which no campaign-trail politician has offered solutions.
5-1-15
Which Boris is right about equality?
Today, he is flirting with the language of the left. In 2013, a wiser Boris argued the very opposite.
Has the Tory crossover in the polls finally arrived?
As election day nears, the number of polls appearing is rapidly increasing. But it still remains very tight and the movements are generally within the margin of error. But there is one trend emerging from the handful of polls released in the last few days: the Tories are stable on 35 per cent and ahead of Labour.
No, filling Britain’s 218,000 empty homes will not solve the housing crisis
A new think tank report on empty homes proposes a plan to get them back on the market. But the situation is not as simple as it appears
My hunch is that the Tory message on the SNP is getting through to voters
Plus: The CCHQ charm school. Disgraceful Livingstone. Untruthful Clegg. Nasty Russell Brand. Where I’ll be on election night. And: Advice to candidates for the count.
The anti-Miliband media campaign is just getting into its stride
4-30-15
Election sketch: Charlotte Leslie – “Getting Stuff Done” on the doorsteps of Bristol North West
She knows how to “swim her own race” – and, at a local level, is part of the anti-politics movement.
Arrogant, biased and bad value for money – it’s time for a radical shake-up of the BBC
Because of the broadcaster’s arrogant attitude, its journalism is being reduced to the lowest common denominator
UK employment is a success story
Pub must be rebuilt brick by brick, orders council, after developers tore it down to build flats
4-29-15
Numbers, not arguments about legitimacy, will decide who enters No.10 after May 7
Lyndon Johnson’s first lesson of politics was to be able to count. It’s something that many of those commenting on the various post-election scenarios could do with remembering. Let’s start with those who think that there is some overriding importance in being the largest single party and that this gives you the right to form a government, even if you lack a majority. It is never clear what people expect the other parties to do in such a scenario.
Scaremongering politicians beware – Britons are optimists, even on immigration
Dominating the election is the shadow of the outsider: the migrant, nationalist or refugee
Remember when eternal coalition was supposedly a positive prospect?
In the heady days of the AV referendum, some claimed compromise was what excited voters. Try arguing that now.
In place of facing hard truths, our leaders offer unaffordable and undeliverable promises
4-28-15
Will Cameron’s ‘10 days to save the Union’ message work?
David Cameron continues his anti-SNP campaign today, launching what theTimes calls his ‘strongest attack so far’ on a Labour-SNP government. The Prime Minister tells the paper that there are ‘ten days to save the United Kingdom’, which is an echo of Tony Blair’s ‘24 hours to save the NHS’ and William Hague’s less successful ‘last chance to save the pound’.
The election may be depressing, but Prime Minister Miliband would be much worse
Even if Cameron has given a little glimpse of his inner Netanyahu, Miliband displays all the pragmatism of Salvador Allende.
All you need to know about what’s going on. And some things you don’t
Quantitative easing – what next?
The age of Nick Clegg is drawing to an end
Tim Stanley went to Sheffield Hallam and discovered exactly why the Liberal Democrats are being torn to shreds
– – – – – –
Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst
