Archive: 26 April – 2 May 2010
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Friday 30 April 2010
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Tony Blair visits a Labour candidate's office in Harrow, north-west London, today. Photograph: Akira Suemori/AP
So now we know. Tony Blair has joined the long line of Labour worthies who believe their party is heading for defeat next week.
In his first appearance on the campaign trail since the election was called, the former prime minister said that Labour had "every chance of succeeding" next Thursday.
Every chance of succeeding? That is hardly the language of blood, sweat and tears. Can you imagine Winston Churchill saying we'll fight them on the beaches and then we'll have every chance of achieving a success over Nazi Germany?
Blair's carefully chosen words show that, even when he was holed up in the Middle East while his private jet was grounded by the volcanic ash, he has clocked what is happening in Britain: it will take a miracle for Labour to win. It is worth examining the exchange at a polyclinic in Harrow this morning to understand Blair's thinking.
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David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown during the final live leaders' election debate, hosted by the BBC in the Great Hall of Birmingham University. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC
Have we watched the return of two-party politics in Britain after a two week fling with a third partner?
For the first half of tonight's final leaders' television debate on BBC1 it felt like the surprise star of this election campaign, the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, was "a third spear carrier". That is his own description of his acting career.
I think two reasons explain why Clegg struggled to assert himself in the initial exchanges:
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Wednesday 28 April 2010
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Gillian Duffy's encounter with Gordon Brown may be the defining moment of the general election campaign. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA
It is a car crash for Gordon Brown that has the potential to inflict immense damage on both him and the Labour campaign.
The prime minister's description of Gillian Duffy as a "bigoted woman" will probably rank alongside the famous John Prescott punch of 2001 as one of those election-defining moments.
Optimists in the Labour ranks will hope Brown's bust-up will eventually play out in the way Prescott's encounter with an egg-throwing protestor did.
Labour initially thought it was facing a disaster. But the following day, when Tony Blair brushed it off as John being John, the incident subsided as voters laughed off Prescott as a man of passion.
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Tuesday 27 April 2010
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Actor Brooke Kinsella speaks at a Conservative party event in south London on 27 April. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
It took a dignified 26-year-old woman to do something today that has eluded the Conservatives' polished band of spin doctors: explain what is meant by David Cameron's "Big Society".
Tories have been scratching their heads in the past two weeks trying to work out how to sell the "big idea" on the doorstep. Yes it involves the biggest devolution of power in a generation. But what does that mean in practical terms? One Conservative told me that it is like overcooked vegetables – it tastes of nothing.
Well, the Tories should bin their sixth-form "hung parliament party" election broadcast tonight and just put Brooke Kinsella on our screens. The former EastEnders actor, whose 16-year-old brother Ben was stabbed to death in London in 2008, endorsed the Tories today. Continue reading...
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Monday 26 April 2010
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David Cameron love-bombed Lib Dem voters this morning, though he was dismissive of Nick Clegg. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Now we know they must be rattled. David Cameron's right-on brigade took to the stage this morning to love-bomb Liberal Democrat voters by burnishing Tory credentials on climate change, civil liberties and handing power to the people.
Greg Clark, the shadow climate change secretary, was first up as he announced that a Tory government would give people the power to plant a tree for every child born in Britain. He cited the Greek proverb:
A civilisation flourishes when people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit. Continue reading...