Seat du jour: Bennelong

The Prime Minister's electorate of Bennelong covers the northern shore of the Parramatta River from Gladesville west to Ermington, extending north through Denistone and Ryde to Epping. While the Ryde area has leaned to Labor in the post-war era, riverside suburbs to the south and east have made Bennelong a fairly safe seat for the Liberals since its creation in 1949.

Full post at The Poll Bludger (Crikey Edition)

Election 2007: Bennelong Time, Prime Minister

Our friend Niall sent us the link to this YouTube video, saying it's so good it even beats the Chaser's Stairway to Kevin, and he was right. Awesome video. If I get to have my 'Howard Loses' party I'll be playing the Led Zepplin song in honour of the occasion.

Holding out for a better offer

Published by Andrew Elder

(Published in today's Crikey newsletter)

I live in Bennelong and received a survey form from my local MP. It contains no Liberal Party livery and shows the local member in an open-necked blue shirt and cargo pants with pamphlets in his hands, as though he were a local running for council.

Why is he asking for my opinions now? Isn’t it too late to tailor his messages? Why no Liberal logos, and why hasn't the election been called yet? None of the explanations offered so far are convincing.

I suspect the reason the election hasn't been called yet is because donations to the Liberal Party have dried up.

Full post at Politically Homeless

Morgan: 53-47 to Labor in Bennelong

Today’s Fairfax broadsheets carry an Morgan survey of 472 voters conducted in Bennelong on Friday and Saturday, which shows Maxine McKew leading John Howard 53-47 on two-party preferred and 45.5 per cent to 42.5 per cent on the primary vote. Under the circumstances, the Prime Minister would be greatly relieved – the result is no worse than most of the other Bennelong polls published this year, not a single one of which has had him in front. Indeed, it marks an almost significant narrowing from the 55-45 recorded by ACNielsen’s last such poll in February.

The Poll Bludger