Ahead of the General Election on May 7th, JBP has published an election guide: Expect the Unexpected: The JBP Guide to the May 2015 General Election.
The full version of the Guide can be found here.
Welcome to the JBP General Election Guide for 2015. Or, should I say, welcome to the first JBP election guide for 2015. For the first time in over 40 years there is a strong chance that an indecisive election result could mean that voters are asked to “think again”. Whatever the outcome, we can confidently predict that the result will be historic.
No incumbent Prime Minister has ever increased their share of the vote after a term in office. Yet for David Cameron to win the election outright he will need to do just that. Equally it is unprecedented in modern times for an opposition party to come back to office at the first attempt – something Ed Miliband is trying to do.
The cry from businesses to all politicians seems to be: give us certainty. That appears a forlorn hope. Even a majority Conservative government would likely be riddled with internal splits, particularly on Europe. A Labour majority government would face huge internal tensions about how to grapple with the deficit amongst other things.
Any attempt to predict the future is difficult. Yet I hope that you find this JBP guide to the election – and what it might mean – helpful and useful. At JBP we will be producing regular bulletins throughout the campaign focusing on key geographical areas of the country. Do keep a close eye on our website and twitter channels for all the twists and turns over the next few weeks.