Downing Street may be a two horse race, but Labour fell at the first fence

IN England it’s a two-horse race. And let’s be honest, that’s where UK elections are lost and won.

According to another Yougov poll, this time for the Sun, the Tories are on 34% and the Liberals are on 30%.

Of course, there are issues with Yougov and the way that they weight their responses, and of course the questions might be those that would suit the management and editorial policy of the Sun. However, they are broadly in line with the figures of other polls over the last week and a half.

Race to No 10 latest:

Conservatives 34% (no change)
Lib Dems 30% (up 1%)
Others 36% (down 1%)

Following on from the first two election debates, the poll also shows 80% say they are interested in the campaign:

How interested are you in the election?
Very interested - 36%
Fairly interested - 46%
TOTAL INTERESTED - 82%

Not very interested - 14%
Not at all interested - 4%
TOTAL NOT INTERESTED - 18%

*1,466 adults were polled on 24th and 25th April


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/election2010/2946819/Suns-daily-YouGov-election-poll-April-26.html#ixzz0m9fTyWh2


Of course The Sun interests itself only in England.

I just watched the debate on BBC 1 of Scottish MPs. David Mundell accused the Liberals (who, in the form of Malcolm Bruce had just proposed that a win for the Tories was the worst thing that could happen) of wanting a Labour Government. Malcolm Bruce replied that he wanted a Liberal Democrat win, Mr Mundell obviously now having awakened to the new politics, and pointed out that it was possible.

Overall trying hard not to be biased, I’d say Stuart Hosie won the day. I’m proud to be stuffing envelopes for the man. I had no idea he was such a competent performer.

Without a doubt the next man was Malcolm Bruce. He proved to be a very competent performer and I’d have to say he spoke a lot of sense.

Jim Murphy comes over as a soundbite man. I’ve heard him over and over again saying the same things in the same way. “It gives me no pleasure as a Murphy to say....” when he's pulling Ireland to pieces. And he has no answer when Stuart puts to him the question...."So Britain's massive deficit is OK Jim?.......Grrrrrr.

Last and absolutely least was David Mundell. If Cameron is the next Prime Minster he MUST get someone better than Mundell for Scotland’s man in London. I don’t care if it is a Lord. Just get us someone more competent than Mundell. He's scary.

In Scotland it’s a three horse race. No one could deny Labour has the lead here, but the Tories are nowhere. In England, quite reasonably it is the reverse. A two horse race between the Tories and the Liberals who have everything to play for.

If I were English I would be very angry if Scotland forced a Labour government with a Scottish PM on me.

Pics: Stuart Hosie, Yellow seems to be a lucky colour; Malcolm Bruce

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO YOUR MP?

I was vaguely aware of a programme in the background last night about MPs and ...well, I wasn’t paying much attention, but I did look round when Nikki Winterton was asked about the flat that he bought on expenses, then put it in a trust for his children and started charging us rent ....... “I not going talk about that”, he snapped in a plumy voice that just smacked of “I’m better than you”.

Anyway. I got to thinking that very few of them understood just how low most of them had sunk in our esteem: how little we liked them.

I’m lucky. My MP, Stuart Hosie, is a good guy who works hard around the constituency and did nothing wrong in the expenses field. He’s approachable and attends his surgeries and takes part in local activities.

But in general I have little time for MPs. I think that many of them, especially those who have held or do hold ministerial office seem to think that they are, as my gran would say, “Erchie”, belonging to a ruling elite or sorts.

So I thought I’d take this opportunity (knowing that this article will be read by the great and the good) to say....

“You’re not!

“What you are is someone who works for us. You are like our dentist, or our mechanic, our doctor or our stock broker, except in all these cases the person concerned is a professional who has trained to do that job, He is, we hope, an expert in his field. With respect, you are not. You may be a professional elsewhere, but for this specific job, you need no qualifications, or experience. You simply need to be chosen by your party. We elect you to go to Westminster to look after our interests there.

“We sometimes hear MPs whine that they are glorified social workers. Well, it’s true but, if we appeal to you sometimes to try to sort out something out, it is because we have tried already with the DWP or the Council or the Revenue, and we have been fobbed off or just plain lied to. You can get things done. Your letters will go straight to the Area Manager; ours languish in a clerk's in-tray ignored. If we call up we will talk to a junior with no authority, whereas you will talk to the boss, You can get things done. Not because you are you, but because you have the authority of parliament behind you, the portcullis letterhead.

“So, if you hate us bothering you about trivia, go sort out the fact that ordinary people don’t have access to anyone who can make a decision anymore. Therein lies your problem.

“Apart from that remember you are an ordinary person too, and when you stop having “The Hon” in front of your name (whether you deserve it or not) and “MP” after your name, you will be back in the same situation as we are.

“It will take a long time for us to get over the fact that more than half your number have been on the fiddle because they thought that they would never get caught. If you are not one of them, then sorry, but people do tend to get judged en masse, rather like your parties have classed everyone who is unemployed and every single parent as a scrounger. It’s hard and it hurts if it's untrue in your case, but that’s how it goes.

“No hard feelings!”

I’d love to hear what you’d tell (or what you have told) an MP .....

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