Policies not opinion polls, please
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After every general election since at least 1992, I have resolved not to allow my reporting and commentary to be driven so much by opinion polls. During every campaign there is always the pointless debate about banning polls, which is easily ended by pointing out that they cannot be banned, and if their publication is banned, they will still be carried out but only rich people and foreigners will know what they say. But we should focus more on the policies that are laid before us, even though this is hard when the two main parties have entered a conspiracy of silence about the public finances, and the smaller parties are so unrealistic. Perhaps at this late stage Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak might use the chance of the Question Time special – they will be on at 9pm and 9.30pm – to bring some honesty to bear on the trade-offs that the next government will face. |
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In which century was the word "balderdash", of unknown origin, first recorded? |
Answer at the bottom of today's email |
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| Tony Lee left after it was discovered his wife Laura Saunders was being investigated for betting on the election date |
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| 'The reputation for sound economic management ... took a bit of a knock in the period between Boris and Rishi' |
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| Alex Ross finds the former cabinet minister in jovial mood as he knocks on doors in Somerset |
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What else you need to know today |
- Without focusing too much on opinion polls, we can note that Redfield & Wilton has Reform UK in second place on 19 per cent, ahead of the Tories on 18 per cent and behind Labour on 42 per cent; the company has long tended to give the Tories a low score, so this may be mere random variation, rather than evidence to support yesterday's People Polling survey putting Reform a remarkable 9 points ahead of the Tories
- Just Stop Oil have desecrated another monument, spraying paint on a plane believed to have been used by Taylor Swift at Stansted airport
- Boris Johnson's memoir Unleashed will be published on 10 October
- I wrote that the allegations of bets on the election date by Tory insiders will tarnish the party's reputation for years to come
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Will the drop in inflation be enough to make people vote Tory? |
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As the rate of inflation falls to the Bank of England's target of 2 per cent, we probably all know the answer to this question... Read more |
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Tomorrow on the campaign trail |
Our political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for |
The Home Office will provide an update on payments under the Windrush Compensation Scheme. Rishi Sunak is expected to focus on attacking the devolved Labour government in Wales as a warning to the rest of the UK. Angela Rayner, deputy Labour leader, will be announcing more detail of the party's plan to "support" 650,000 high-quality jobs. Nigel Farage is to be interviewed by Nick Robinson on BBC1 at 7pm. |
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Quiz answer: Sixteenth – 1596 |
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Keep a civil tongue.