The political assassination of David Laws

Here are the questions I have about the David Laws political assassination.

• Why did he accept such an office if he was compromised over expenses like this ?
• Surely Nick Clegg should have known he could have been compromised ? Should not the Lib Dem whips have known ?
• What about the MI5 briefings to David Cameron on people he could appoint to high office ? Or did the security service just think the private life of an MP was none of their business ?
• Why now ? The Telegraph appears to have sat on this story, or have they ? Did the Laws relationship only become known to them with the help of a third, probably Lib Dem, party. Does this mean the Lib Dems will be just unable to deliver on the coalition ?

The loss of a chief secretary to the treasury at the very moment his post is most critical and at a critical point in time for the government suggests either very unfortunate timing or a plot.

I tend to think its a plot.

I also think some people need to sharpen up their act for government.

As for the alleged issues David Laws had with his expenses - I'm still trying to understand them and the issues - if any - that are relevant from his private life. It seems to me that given what is currently known he could have survived perhaps in any ministerial post but the one he was given with its briefing at this point in time. I'm not sure he would have deserved to however, but he is a potential great loss to the coalition government and the country.

We live in interesting times....

Thank goodness its the weekend

Because that means your not working for the Govt.

I'm starting to get worried

Not about the coalition - not yet anyway.

No what worries me is that the wheels may be about to come of the the European experiment and the worlds faith in quantum money.

What do I mean about quantum money ? Well I'm playing on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle as we can't really be sure where a lot of money really is.

I place £100 in the bank, the bank lends say £80 out to some one who spends it and deposits it again - allowing the bank to lend out £64 to someone who spends it with someone who deposits the money etc etc ...

Does my £100 exist ? Well the bank lent it out a few times, and yes as long as I don't look for it by asking for it back I can think of it as existing but I can't have it back as the banks lent it out a few times over.

We get round this by having a lot of people borrowing and lending at the same time - so I can withdraw £100 from the local cash machine- as long as most other people in the same situation don't.

This has all worked well enough for some time. But the problem is that people are about to do a lot of observing where the cash really is if sovereign defaults start - and they might very well soon - and it will then have problems being in many places at the same time.

( On an aside if you were the chancellor of a country about to default do you default before you receive a large rescue package from your neighbours or afterwards ? Its a no brainer really ).

I'm not an economist, just an engineer. But I don't like the look of things right now.

Further ( Stiff drink suggested before reading - in fact buy a crate load just in case the cash stops working ) Is Europe heading for a meltdown - Edmund Conway.

Gove getting on with schools

Its heartening to see Michael Gove hitting the ground running on schools today. We had the same old tired response on improving schools not being fair from the dead hand of the Labour party, but they still haven't woken up to not being in power.

I know everyone says Labour governed as if they were running an opposition campaign, but I see the likes of Ed Balls (R4 Today this morning) still giving the sort of blocking statements on fairness in interviews they used to use to avoid scrutiny whilst they got on with the business of socialist destruction in government. It won't work now as no one cares if what they say adds up or prevents further questioning as no ones interested in them right now. No doubt they'll figure this out in a few weeks time.

But education reform is the key plank of this government. The LEA's and left wing educational establishment will squeal and shout, but Gove must push on.

Its time to put the customers of education - the children and their parents first - and in doing so provide our country with a work force that can pay off the debt Labour has saddled us with.

See also Stephen Pollard - Gove's first fight is against the enemy within

Child trust funds - Labour's cynical joke on our children

The BBC has been desperately trying to whip up hysteria on the coming evil kitten murdering Tories austerity fest.

The Child Trust Funds look like the headline of the day. Matthew Taylor was on radio 4's PM giving the poison laden type interview that New Labour are so famous for - full of the socialist favourite tricks of partial examples - studies are beginning to show that etc etc.

But lets get this straight as George Osborne confirmed to day - state borrowing is just deferred future taxation, that's future taxation on our children. Labour has robbed an entire generation of its future money - all blown on inefficient state spending to save the careers of failed and frankly stupid socialists.

So lets not have any more of this socialist hypocrisy from the BBC, Labour or their co-travellers with their crocodile tears about the effects of their pre-election burnt earth strategy.

Update: See also Ian Cowie Why the Child Trust Fund con-trick had to stop .

What would you cut ?

The coalition ( have we agreed to call it that ?) is starting the process of undoing Labour's attempt to destroy our country and economy today with areas where the state has to be cut back.

What would your suggestions be ?

My starter would be OffToff ( aka Office for Fair Access )- the Labour governments anti middle class children agency.

Time to restore an employers right to sack workers who strike

Labour paid back the Union paymasters with a provision in the law that makes in illegal for an employer to sack workers during the first 12 weeks of a strike.

So we have the absurd case of BA who could replace the staff on strike in the bat of an eyelid unable to do so because Labour got bribed by money from the Unions ( which Labour bunged them anyway from the Tax payer via the Union modernisation fund ).

Lets have a level playing field.

Remeber Ronald Reagan sacking the airtraffic controllers ? That's what's needed here. It impossible to have sympathy with the self destructive behaviour of the striking BA staff - and the law should not allow them to black mail their employer.

Odd the BBC never brings this issue up ....

The ambush of the 1922 committee by Cameron is his first bad mistake

Everyone who makes decisions and provides leadership, makes mistakes.

And David Cameron has just made his first large one, trying to destroy the 1922 committee on backbench Conservative MPs with his wrecking amendment.

There is already bad feeling in the party about some of the compromises necessary to build a coalition with the Lib Dems, but most of us understand the nation is under threat of financial disaster and the National interest means compromise for strong government is needed.

But at the same time that Lib Dem MPs and party is being courted and canvassed by its leadership David Cameron is trying to shut down descent. It won't work and it will be counter productive.

At least with the 1922 committee there is a safety valve - if its destroyed then there will be secretive factions and campaigns that the party can't reason so easily with.

Many Conservative party members will note how the Lib Dems have to be kept on side, but Conservatives told to shut up. This means serial appeasement of the Lib Dems and bad deals for Conservatives.

Pay attention Mr Cameron we won't stand for it.

Update: The results are in and the govt won, but with the payroll vote. Legal challenges are being discussed as they should not have been voting.

But whatever the result - the trust has been savagely broken and the party betrayed. Mr Cameron has just blown a very large amount of the good will and credit at his disposal.

Now all savers are losing money

As the Telegraph points out now UK inflation exceeds all interest rates on offer in the UK.

Money is being syphoned away from those with savings to those with debts.

This can't last.

Fire hose of ice cold water coming your way soon

Well we put it off as long as possible. ( Though to be fair two of the main political parties stood on a 12 months more denial platform. )

But the shocking facts are now a lot less ignorable than they were just a month ago.

The idea that Labour have been preparing for defeat by destroying the country's finances has been well known about, especially in blogging circles, for quite some time. But the general public has just not wanted to know - and the left wing media ( read BBC / Guardian / Independent/Mirror etc ) has been keen that they not consider the problem before the general election.

But now the new coalition has access to the books the full horror is starting to leak out.

And the happy fiction that the rich ( ie people richer than us ) would pay just can't be sustained. [ If you don't know why then it really is time you grew up. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure this out. ]

The middle classes and working people will pay.

And when people finally realise this they are going to get mad, very mad.

The general public have been like the investors in Bernie Madoff and his pyramid scheme - if they though about it they would ask themselves where all the money was coming from, but they just didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

We can look at the insanity of Greek street protests against their government that knows to borrow more money it must make cuts and if it doesn't the government will just have a terminal heart attack. Only those in the crowd who want that apocalypse are thinking clearly. ( And never forget there are those of the left who want just that result. )

We can joke about BA Unite cabin crew striking whilst being the best paid the the industry working for a loss making airline - insane right ?

Yet as a collective group of people we let Brown and Labour carry on for years when we knew those warning us of the black holes in the nations finances were probably right.

Well its too late now. The bills must be paid and it will be very very painful.

The political battle over this time will be to pin the blame and make sure the public learns the correct lessons.

The left will try to say its the evil Tories and their love of pain for its own sake. Shortly we will hear their sound bite for this - and it will just get repeated mercilessly and their BBC contacts will put it in every question they can to coalition ministers. The left are desperate that the public doesn't understand what happened and blame the right for the bills that have fallen due now from the last 13 years of their reign.

The right needs to get its ducks in a row here. We could spend our time looking out for betrayal and fighting Cameron and co - but the long term battle and prize is to set the terms of the debate that will result from the unavoidable austerity and hopefully reform that will follow.

Think of how often the left try to use their myths about Thatcher - they will soon be trying to shirk their responsibility for our financial disaster and to blame the savage cuts on the Lib Dems and Conservatives.

If we lose this debate it won't matter who negotiated away the repeal of the Human Right Act because we won't get near power again for a generation.

Its a battle we dare not lose. We need a clear and consistent message communicated in a straightforward memorable framework.

The fire-hoses of austerity are about to be turned on all of us to wake us up from the trance Labour had Britain in - and we'd better be ready to pin the blame where it belongs - on Gordon Brown and Labour.

That will require the arguments and the courage to make them and repeat them again and again. ( Often commentators of the right seem to get bored with simple points and stop repeating them. the left never tires of their spin and deceit and we must counter every time. Never allow one of their assertions to go unchallenged - even if that means the interview must descend into chaos. ) We need to be aggressive, clear and relentless.

Because the general public is about to get a rude awakening and they are going to want someone to blame.

In addition we can make sure the right lessons are learnt and that the public sees why the state must be shrunk and reformed.

See also The Coming Middle Class Rebellion

The Sunday Telegraph thinks the tax rises to pay for the Labour years might cost £3000/yr for middle class families.

John Redwood thinks we aren't moving fast enough on cutting state spending and that the markets agree.

The morality of using misfortune

I've just read some shocking news about a key activist with a rival political party where I live. Its on the front page of the local press and it in many ways is a test of how civilised the local politicos can be.

None of us can be sure that the person we are delivering leaflets with or canvassing doesn't have a dark secret.

So I think the correct response is to say nothing more. As no hypocrisy or cover up seems to be involved there's is nothing to castigate the other political party about. It appears to be just misfortune, and could happen to any of the party groups.

Though I do ask myself if the same approach would be taken were the tables turned. I'd like to think it would be, but after the way the general election campaign was fought here I have my doubts.

Open hypocrisy however is another matter and I will be returning to that issue in Woking in a while.

Note Any comments that are not on the general point but relate to the specific case will be deleted.

How the BBC makes the news

There's an interesting post by Dan Hannan today where he describes the sort of calls he's been getting from BBC researchers who are fishing for evidence for the story they want to run - read Dan here.

We know from former BBC employees and from facebook profiles that the BBC is an institutionally left wing organisation many of whom's staff go on to careers in left wing parties.

So when they try to create the news like this ( in this case splits with David Cameron and the new coalition ) its going way beyond their brief.

Its fine for the Guardian, Mirror and Independent to do this sort of thing - after all they are left wing newspapers, but the BBC is supposed to be impartial and operate to inform opinion not lead it.

But we all know the reality is very different.

So here's one of my greatest disappointments about the new Lib Dem - Conservative coalition, which is that the BBC won't get sorted out this time as the Lib Dems will protect it.

The day of reckoning is now at least 5 years hence and that is a great shame for our democracy and for the licence fee payers.

And what of England Mr Cameron ?

David Cameron is visiting all the home countries ( remember that phrase? ).

everywhere he will offer mutual respect and listen to the national leaders, except one country.

Who speaks for England ?

The Union can't be saved by respect for the devolved governments or more appeasement on powers etc, when there is no respect for England.

We need an English Parliament, with an English government and an English First Minister - for Mr Cameron to meet on behalf of the Union.

How does our constitution protect us ?

This question comes to mind since there's been a sudden run on changing the rules of the game going on.

From Labour offer of immediate legislation on AV when they were courting the Lib Dems ( or at least that what it sounded like ).

To the new system for the house of Lords and the proposed change in parliament being able to vote itself out by calling for a disillusion.

What worries here is that the rules of the game are becoming fluid, and that our constitution doesn't really protect us from arbitrary changes to give advantage to one party or another,

Which may seem fine when your in power, but means you have no protection when your not.

It seems to me that we need a more formalised approach to these changes, over and above just being in power when you want to make them.

Time for a written constitution agreed between all parties ?

Tea time strategy

I don't know about you but politics and the news have grabbed a lot of my time recently. To get the work back in I'm going to try and restrict myself to tea time and evening blogging.

See how long that lasts ....

Sent from my HTC

An independent line

It certainly felt good to see David and Sam Cameron enter Downing street. I'm a Conservative party member who campaigned for a Conservative government, and whilst this isn't precisely what I campaigned for it contains many of the key elements.

During the campaign I've mostly targeted my comments at other parties and avoided any issues I might have with my own, except for the English Question.

Well here comes the but - normal service will be resumed shortly.

I'm still a Conservative, but I'm not a slavish follower and we're not under election conditions so I'll be speaking my mind here.

I'm economically liberal, but socially conservative. I'm patriotic but pragmatic. I willing to give the benefit of the doubt but not to be taken for a ride. Lets see how the coalition works out, I won't hold back from criticism where I think its warranted.

Two major areas of disagreement I expect to have with the new government are on;

1) An English Parliament - its very clear we should have one. I also think this would make our country stable again and save the Union. A lot of Unionist seem to oppose giving the English their national recognition, but they are making a fatal mistake.
2) The Climate Change Fallacy - Sorry guys I am very far from being convinced that the Warmest argument is true, indeed the majority of reliable evidence (known as the geological record) points the other way.

These are the two main points but there will be others.

We are setting of into the unknown with the coalition - but independence of thought and opinion will continue here, though I'll not be unnecessarily unhelpful - apart from this ;-) .

PS I've a lot of work to make up after the last month, so forgive me if blogging is a bit more sparse. In many ways the next month or two will belong to Labour bloggers anyway as they try to react to their defeat and need for a new leader ( hint - this time try having an election ).

Its done

David Cameron is prime minister !

Now we will find out the details of the cost. the indications are that David Cameron has been very generous to the Lib Dems and we'll have to see how that works out. It is perhaps wise to make friends early - but we'll need to see at what cost.

Still a great day.

Beer is on its way ....

Will Brown be out today ?

The worse prime minister this country has had in living memory may be about to be kicked out of office which he's clinged to beyond all dignity.

I'm very much hoping for this is it !

Is any Lib Dem deal worth the paper its written on ?

The Lib Dems are a poorly disciplined party. Well really they are two parties - the liberals and the SDP. The Liberals would deal with the Conservatives, the SDP with Labour ( their old home ).

Its time to start asking if the Lib Dems could really deliver a deal even if they agreed to it.

I think whatever they agree to it won't be long before self serving Lib Dem MPs start breaking ranks to save their own seats at the election that's coming soon.

The only good things to come of all this has been to destroy the idea that hung parlaiments are a good idea in the publics mind and to show the Lib Dems in the same light that many Labour and Conservative activists see them.

My prediction - the next general election will be the end of July

The rainbow coalition deal is really a non starter. The fact we are even thinking about it is more a product of the fact Nick Clegg doesn't command the support of his MPs and party than any form of logic.

My guess is that we are still heading for minority Conservative government. It will present a budget in the first 50 days which it will fail to get through Parliament, as Nick Clegg won't be able to control his weirdie beardie wing.

And a new general election will be called.

Expect to be back at the polling station around then end of July. As the Lib Dems are incapable of delivering stable government or government of any sort.

Double dealing with the Lib Dems

Looks like the Lib Dems have been playing both sides, and that Lib Dem activists and Executive would rather the economy crashed and burned with all the misery it will cause then they're chances of getting on the public pay roll should suffer.

Maybe Nick Clegg can still pull it off - but I'm starting to think a cynical rainbow coalition of denial based on self interested may be more likely than a stable LibCon coalition.

There will be very real trouble if it does and the voters are denied the change they voted for....

Election blues

So the results in, only it isn't.

We are all reduced to the role of spectators to secret negotiations and deals as our interests, priorities and intentions are traded behind closed doors.

The BBC and Lib Dems would like this to happen after every general election for ever. IE to create and Italian style political system. In the BBC's ( & Labour's ) case because they think there would never be another Conservative government afterwards.

I can't say I'm very fond of whats going on right now. But I think David Cameron is doing the right thing, and we are where we are and ragging against it does no good. Personally I would support a Lib Dem/Con coalition. Politically I would prefer a Conservative minority government, but given the national threat of Brown's debt crisis we need stable government and a Lib Dem/Conservative coalition can deliver than and save the nation. Though the cost will be high politically at the follow on election.

Politically the best option for the Conservative party would be to be in opposition to a rainbow government, if it wasn't for the fact they will re-write the political rules to favour themselves whilst failing to save the nation from Brown's debt disaster.

So I'm hoping for a coalition deal - but its hard to be enthusiastic about it. The devil will be in the details no doubt.

I don't fear electoral changes ( I think reform is a loaded word in this context ) I just think any new system will take 4-8 years to become effective, and we just don't have that sort of time given the economic disaster Labour has created.

Anyway to summarise - this blog supports David Cameron and his teams efforts to put the interests of our nation first.

Remember there is a way Brown could be PM for a while longer...

And that's to call another general election straight away, whilst he is still PM.

Labour might fancy its chances on improving its position, and after all what else does Brown have to lose. Though of course Labour is broke.

To justify this he could go if no formal coalition is agreed between the Lib Dems and Conservatives citing a national emergency.

I admit its unlikely - but remember how desperate Labour are to hang onto power ! It may also explain why Brown hasn't resigned as PM. The ability to call a new election may be the key to power in the country for some time to come.

PS This weeks Economist makes a good point. That is that Labour has a smaller amount of the vote in 2005 and gained a comfortable majority. It just shows how two faced Labour really are that they are clinging to power.

Woking general election results 2010

Rob Burberry UKIP 1997
Jonathan Lord Conservative 26551
Tom Millar Labour 4246
Julie Roxburgh Peace party 204
Rosie Sharpley Lib Dems 19744
Ruth Temple Magna Carta 44

Its a good result for the Conservatives and for Jonathan Lord after a lot of hard work on the ground over the last few weeks.

Full details here

Right that's it I'm off to bed and I hope someone's figured out who's running the country by the time I wake up.

Update: In case your interested here's the Woking result being announced.



If your looking for the local election results for Woking borough they are here. These results will officially put the council in no overall control.

The result from Royston Vasey

Its so close in Royston Vasey !: Acceptance speech of your new Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson

Fear and hope

I finished doing my bit to help in the election a few hours ago. The local team has its chin up, but the news from America is worrying. As is the thought of a minority government trying to deal with the sovereign debt crisis Labour has left the country with.

So there's hope, but I think a lot of fear also.

Politics is about to get deadly serious.

My feeling is that the BBC exit poll underestimates support for the Conservatives, but perhaps not by enough.

Vote for change today

Its so close in Royston Vasey !: Vote LOCAL today in Royston Vassey

Its so close in Royston Vasey !: Vote LOCAL today in Royston Vassey

Who should I vote for ?

This is a question that it looks like many people are going to leave till they are alone with their ballot papers asking themselves the quintennial question - is it a tick or a cross on the ballot paper?

Matt apparently has a great cartoon on this this morning if your interested.

In some ways its been the X-Factor / Strictly politics election, perhaps we're expecting some sort of sing off at the end ?

The problem is after 10pm tonight the problems will have just started and we need people in power who can sort them out. And here's the hint - those are not the people who created them.

Most people realise that the full implications of Labour's scorched earth policy haven't yet been shown.

In short Labour funded its spending on a boom in private debt ( which it taxed through stamp duty, vat and the increased taxes on the higher economic activity ) and then more and more on sovereign debt. There have been no end of off balance sheet spending and spending commitments.

Some of us know in our heads this can't last. Now with the eruptions in Greece our hearts are getting a look at the consequences.

That's why the most responsible action you can take today is to vote Conservative.

Nothing else will do.

The Lib Dems could ( and their activists would heavily favour this option ) support Labour. That would result in a government that went for tax and denial rather than rebalancing the economy and growth like the Conservatives would do. Its worth noting that little fuss has been made of the triple lock procedure which ties the hands of the Lib Dem leader - so you might like Clegg - but he doesn't have the power to make a deal. Everyone knows that Lib Dem activists are mainly to the left and many to the left of Labour - you can work out what that means; ie Vote Lib Dem get Brown.

I have a lot of sympathy with the aims of UKIP and The English Democrats - but good folk your votes only make the Lab-Lib Dem pact of decline more likely. A Conservative government most closely represents your aims of the two on offer - please vote for it ! ( Its a secret ballot and no one will know ).

For the sake of our country and for everyone's future - please vote Conservative today.

Look at the last 13 years of Labour and vote Conservtaive on May 6th !

Voting Lib Dem just won't do it. Its now clear the only role left for the Lib Dem is possibly to support Labour to carry on !

The DUP are lined up to support the Conservatives and the SNP have indicated they will also. No need for the Lib Dems - there MPs only role could be to keep Gordon Brown in power and transfer more powers to Brussels.

Vote Conservative !

Why I'm voting for Jonathan Lord for Woking on Thursday

Of course you'd expect me to say that as this is a Conservative supporting blog, and Jonathan is the Conservative candidate.

But I voted for Jonathan in the open hustings the Conservatives when there were 3 other good Conservatives to choose from.

Why ?

Because Jonathan can get things done. How do I know this ? Because he has in the past.

He has a good academic record. ( Does that matter ? Well yes we need someone who can understand complex policy issues and influence that policy for the good of our country and our town. I just don't believe the Lib Dems candidate is anywhere near as capable.) Experience in local politics with Westminster council many years ago and now with Surrey county council. He lead a very successful campaign to stop drilling for gas in a beautiful area near Guildford - by leading a campaign and making good use of expert knowledge which he managed to gather in. He was also involved in the campaign to save the Royal Surrey.

Clearly he's a man who knows how to get things done.

The Lib Dems have made a spurious argument about his living a few miles over the constituency border, and even though he's selling his house and moving here with his young family they still bang on about it, but always forget to mention that their candidate stood in Horsham in 2005 and has failed to be selected as their candidate for Woking on many previous occasions. ( If you want the full sad tail of Lib Dem misrepresentation of their candidate and ours look here. )

Being a MP is an important job where you want a capable and gifted advocate representing our town. Having gone to the hustings there was just no competition on this score between the Lib Dems candidate and Jonathan Lord. ( Indeed the only person close to Jonathan has been Labour's Tom Millar who can at least string an argument together and put it across succinctly. )

Woking has been fortunate to have Sir Humfrey Malins as our MP over the last number of years, and I'm sure we would be best served locally by Jonathan Lord.

And I know that the Conservatives under David Cameron are what our country needs to repair the irresponsible damage that Gordon Brown has done to our country, and especially the way Labour has treated Surrey and Woking just as a supply of cash to be spent bribing its heartlands else where.

Given the last minute manoeuvres by the likes of Peter Hain and Ed Balls its quite clear if you vote Lib Dem you may get Gordon Brown as PM or some other Labour party front man Harriet Harman !

Good luck with your own choice on where to put your X - I thought I'd share my thoughts with you on why mine will be against Jonathan Lord's name.

Vote Lib Dem on Thursday and you could wake up on Friday with Gordon Brown as prime minister

The current discredited Labour old guard are desperate to hold onto their ministerial salaries and cars and are now openly promoting the idea of voting Lib Dem to help keep them in power.

Remember there is one and only one way of getting rid of Gordon Brown and that's voting Conservative on Thursday !

Vote UKIP, English Democrat etc and you will most likely be sending Gordon Brown backed by the anti-English pro-EU Lib Dems back into power.

PS The BBC is surpassing itself this morning with its vote #LibDem get #Brown campaign.

Gordon Brown in the dock

OK not the trial we've most been hoping for ( Tony Blair of course ) but you get the point !

Has Rosie Sharpley been shamed into revising the dodgy Lib Dem bar chart ?

If you get a letter from the Lib Dems in Woking it will have the following form on it and the bar chart that has been repeated in all the various forms of literature the Lib Dems have pushed through letter boxes. ( Some of the literature is designed to look like local newspapers - the purpose of this is obvious and it doesn't reflect well on Rosie as the Lib Dem candidate. )

Yes its the infamous Lib Dem dodgy bar chart. Taking whatever local elections results the Lib Dems want to throw in - ignoring the general election result - when Labour always poll far better - and of course ignoring UKIP on the bar chart. ( UKIP are the useful idiots in Woking - allowing Euro federalist Lib Dems to split the right of centre vote ).


But whats this ? Over on the Lib Dem web site the Labour vote has suddenly shot up (see below) ?
How can this be ? Could it be that the backlash against Lib Dem campaigning techniques which have been described as dirty and nasty is beginning to worry them ?
That's about the 14% Labour got in the last general election.

This could be a sign of a wider lifting of the veil on the true nature of Woking's Lib Dems and Rosie Sharpley's campaign. Many people never know them as their opponents do, but I suspect if this starts to change their support will erode.

Why don't Lib Dems campaign on their policies rather than dodgy bar charts and pathetic campaigns about who's most local ?

I think the second and third leaders debates show why. Nick Clegg was doing great until Lib Dem policies like the immigration amnesty and joining the Euro came up. The weak point of the Lib Dems is their policies, which is why they try to make such a big issue out of anything else they can.

PS Take a look at the results from the last general election here in The Times. The Times has Labour of 16% and others ( mostly UKIP ) on about 3%. This information is just missing from almost all Fib Dem Lib Dem literature.

General election 2010: The sobering up has started

For a long time, since John Major defeated Neil Kinnock against the expectation of the polls, I have had a theory about the last few days of a general election campaign.

I call it the sobering up period.

General elections allow national debates to happen in a way that is impossible at any other time of year. Outside general elections debates take place as bombardments from fixed positions, each side firing its artillery at the other. But in general elections ground changes hands, the unexpected happens, theory about which approach will triumph over another is put to the test and the results seen in the court of public opinion.

In this election it started with the artillery, and it was just as boring as politics had been before. But then the sudden breakthrough of Cleggmania meant that infantry had to be redeployed. An ignored enemy had to be reconnoitered by the other two and tactics to engage them tried and effected.

Initially attacks on Cleggs character were tried, based on fact from his career in politics, but then the tactic that really yielded results turned out to be using the lack of the public knowledge of Lib Dem policies against Clegg by revealing them ! The public didn't appreciate that the Lib Dems wanted to replace Trident with some fuzzing uncosted unthought out alternative - they thought Nick had gone CND. The public hadn't heard of the Lib Dem immigration amnesty - but they have now and they hate it. The public hadn't realised what a disaster the UEro was for heavily indebted nations, but that's to providence they can see that in Greece today - and Cl€gg can't squirm his way out of his EUphoria.

So here's a set of stages that outside a general election could hav taken years to work their way through the public consciousness.

And now for the killer fact. We are broke - and yes Gordon Brown broke us.

Up to now the true horror of what has happened has been hidden from most people. Yes some people lost their jobs, many shops closed, but it didn't seem like the 70's or 80's. Perhaps it would never happen thought the wishful thinking public. After all New Labour's great genius was to suggest you don't need to chose between fiscal responsibility and salving your conscience with handing out govt cash - they suggested you could do both. It turned out to be funded on private, and then public debt, but it felt great whilst it lasted.

Now the public are angry that no one will tell them what will happen after the election. The argument between the Lib Dems/Labour who want one more year on the credit card, and the Tories who argue its time to start the hard work now in case things get worse, doesn't even make the airwaves at this stage of the election. The parties have almost started to compete for who can name the most cuts they have planned. ( The public can't avoid responsibility for this as Matthew Parris explains well in his Times article today ).

The final sobering up is starting. People realise this general election will have consequences for decades to come.

Vote for the Lib Dems and they will ensure a weak government more concerned about ensuring future jobs for Lib Dem activists that helping the country.

Vote Labour and the country will sink under debt and the IMF will be called in.

Vote Conservative and it will hurt. But the patient may be saved.

We now know we can't go on like this, and the vast majority of the country now realises this.

But only one party said this at the start of the general election campaign and that's the party you should trust with your vote.

The flights of fancy and intoxication of the X-Factor part of the election are over. Its time to sober up, face up to facts and save our nation.

Welcome to the sobering up phase of the election.

Labour must now choose the manner of its passing

Even Tony Blair can't revive the Labour patient.

The Lefties are horrified. The first tanks can now be seen closing in on streets just a mile from the bunker. It quite clear the end will happen in days.

But for most of the Labour high command there will be no political tomorrow. Some will fall not just from office, but from their privileged positions as recipients of generous state money. Ed Balls has only just realised it could all be over on Thursday - unless he fancies looking after the children whilst Yvette goes to work.

Till last Thursday Gordon Brown has still been the Prime Minister, but now he and the Cabinet which gathered behind him at the Downing Street bunker for the election kick off, are already yesterdays men. People have started to jeer and mock.

Those who will try to continue the Labour party are now caught in the headlights of their coming destruction. Should they try to boast their share of the vote everywhere ( so that they can still claim some legitimacy and just maybe make common cause with the Lib Dems ) or should they collapse their front against the Lib Dems by calling for tactical voting and betray their own candidates and perhaps destroy the Labour party for good.

And lets not forget the Labour civil war that is less than 6 days from starting. Will the first moves be made on election night, or like with the local elections before the polls have closed ?

The choice for Labour is now how it wants to embrace defeat. Will it be better to hurt the country and strike at the Tories to keep the government weak, but perhaps destroy the Labour party for a generation with a tactical voting plan ? Or should they hold firm and accept defeat, but recognise where they finish in 2010 will be the starting point for the next elections and they need to give as little ground as possible ( after all do you think the Lib Dems are likely to give those voters back ? ).

I suspect this is the darkest weekend many Labour party members can even remember since John Major defeated Neil Kinnock.