Saturday, October 06, 2007

Election is off.
It's definitely another two years until you will see election night special on your TV.

Gordon Brown has, true to form, baled out of an early election and ruled out next year as well, apparently.

Mixed feelings about this, myself. On the one hand I am now much more confident that Labour are on their last-gasp Parliament - especially given the latest set of polls giving us a lead of 3 or 4%. At a personal level I am a bit flat - you can't help but get a bit psyched up and with the poll ratings and our local canvass returns as they have been I am certain I would have won with a clear majority here in Torbay in November.

On balance this is a watershed day I think. Gordon has just ended his own honeymoon in spectacular style with a crass and transparent attempt to manipulate events to suit his own political ends and it's failed completely.

The press will have a field day this weekend and the next few weeks will make grim reading for Labour strategists but if a week is a long time in politics then two years is an age.

That is probably a blessed relief to Liberal Democrats whose poll rating in tomorrows YouGov survey for the Sunday Times is just 11% - a vote share that -if maintained at an election- would take them back to the days when the entire Liberal Parliamentary group could fit in a taxi.

But the real winner is David Cameron who will at last be seen by our opponents the same way that we in the party have seen him all along -unassailable.

So a word of advice to Labour and Lib Dem party strategists, it's no good forever hoping that internal strife or splits will derail the Tories and praying for an opposition meltdown to save your bacon. From now on you will have to win or lose on your own merits.

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