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Election News In Brief
Clare Short, the Secretary of State for International Development, has predicted that the Labour-dominated House of Commons will agree to reduce the age of consent for gay men from 18 to 16; the age of consent for heterosexuals is 16. However, a Labour Party spokesman said later that there was no government commitment to the change, and that the impetus to lower the age of consent would have to come from the backbenches.
The 1997 General Election may be only just behind us after the longest
campaign this century, but some people are already eyeing the odds on the poll
in 2002 or possibly before. After Labour's landslide victory this time around, William Hill have received a string of bets, including one five figure sum, backing Labour to win again and
have cut the odds from 8/11 to 8/13 favourites. The odds on a Tory win have lengthened from even money to 6/5. In the Tory leadership stakes, former Welsh Secretary William Hague is
favourite to succeed John Major at 5/4. Odds of 4/1 are being offered on Kenneth Clarke and Michael Howard, 7/1 for Stephen Dorrell and 8/1 on Peter Lilley and John Redwood.
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