Here's to 2010

The blogosphere seems almost full of predictions for 2010, including Iain Dale's ten predictions for what will happen and Letter From a Tory's 10 things that won't happen. So who am I to miss out?

Five political predictions for 2010:
1. Gordon Brown will continue to try and create spurious and contrived dividing lines with the Conservatives, the BBC will assist by pushing the dividing lines
2. The election will be held on May 6 (along with the local elections) because Labour cannot afford to run two campaigns and this way they will maximise their vote in the council elections
3. The pre-election leader's debates will produce a surprise win (in the view of opinion polls) for Gordon Brown
4. The pre-election leader's debates will produce an increase in support for the Lib Dems
5. Labour win the general election, postal votes being a key factor, and the protests about vote-rigging are dismissed as "losers' sour grapes"

Five economic predictions for 2010:
1. With a Labour victory at the general election (see above) the UK's credit rating will drop from AAA and the resultant rise in interest rates will produce the second half of the 'W shaped' recession
2. The re-election of a Labour government will mean that the exodus of bankers and other financial institutions to more financially friendly locations
3. The ever larger hole in the Treasury's tax receipts will mean that the higher rate of income tax rises to 60% and VAT to 20%
4. The Pound will reach parity with the Euro and the price for IMF and EU assistance for the "sick man of Europe" will be joining the Euro. Being at parity will make this an easier sell for Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson
5. Having dropped to around USD 1,100 at the end of 2009; gold will rise ever higher, reaching USD 1500 by the end of the 2010

Five BBC related predictions for 2010:
1. The BBC will become ever more blatantly biased in favour of the Labour party, the Conservatives won't realise how serious a problem this is
2. The tone of the BBC's leader's debate will be clearly pro-Labour, the Conservatives won't realise how serious a problem this is
3. The BBC will minimise their coverage of the postal voting scandal (see above), the Conservatives will finally realise how serious this BBC bias is but it will be too late
4. The BBC will continue to push for the withdrawal of British armed forces from Afghanistan
5. The BBC will continue to vilify Israel at every opportunity and revel in the coming further military attacks on Israel


More to follow...