Paris!

It's where I'll be this weekend, so no politics for a couple of days. Which will probably be a good thing.

See you next week!

Chris

P.S. Still leaning towards Lib Dems. Maybe France will make me Conservative (but I doubt it).

Stroud 1, Cameron 0

David Cameron has admitted to a "gaffe" in his general election campaign after forgetting the name of a seat his party is trying to win in Gloucestershire.

When asked by BBC News which seats were being targeted, the Conservative leader mentioned Gloucester and Cheltenham but forgot Stroud. He said: "I'm desperately racking my brains, which one have I missed out?" Given a clue, Cider With Rosie, a novel set in Stroud, he said: "Of course... My first gaffe of the campaign."

Mr Cameron said: "Funnily enough, Cider With Rosie is one of my favourite books. I'm terribly embarrassed." He told BBC Gloucestershire presenter Mark Cummings: "You've got me - middle stump."
Mr Cameron's constituency in Witney is on the border with Gloucestershire. Stroud was a Conservative seat for nearly 50 years before it was won in 1997 by Labour's David Drew, who is the current MP. Boundary changes for this election have led to Minchinhampton moving from Stroud to the Cotswolds constituency, swapping with part of Wotton-under-Edge. Stroud is a key Tory target seat for next month's general election.

Candidates so far announced in Stroud are: Conservative: Neil Carmichael; Labour: David Drew; Lib Dem: Dennis Andrewartha; Green: Martin Whiteside

Says it all really.

Last PMQ's

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/liveevent/
Fun times. Cameron's focusing on the war: dare he focus on the economy? Keeps using the word "deceived". It's not really working.

National Insurance.

Public services.

Blergh.

Strong performance from both leaders of the party to be fair.

Still a bit too close?

Called It!

Will it be like 1992? 1970? Or in the case of a hung parliament - 1974?

One thing's for sure: it won't be like '97 or '83 for either Labour or the Conservatives. It's going to be close. If the Tories imply that they're running away with it, it will work against them. The electorate will not tolerate arrogance.

One month to decide. At the moment: Lib Dem. The TV debates could swing it. Clegg needs to come out fighting; Cameron needs to convince the voters that Osborne isn't his weak link; Brown needs to learn from his mistakes.

And they're off!

Morning!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8604326.stm

All very exciting!

Chris

An April Fool That I Want To Be True

Oh The Guardian, how you make me giggle. This is perhaps the best - and therefore most disappointing April Fool's Joke I have read in a looong time.

I'm not a huge fan of Gordon Brown the politician. I think he works himself too hard; I think his smile is much too forced; I think he's not particularly brilliant at being decisive. And in terms of wowing the media, he's not been great.

But he is definitely the Ying to David Cameron's Yang. And portraying himself as being more of a bruiser than Cameron might well work. Big Bully Brown vs Nice Guy Dave? It's the whole "clunking fist" idea, and whilst it wouldn't guarantee Labour a comfy majority, the Guardian's posters strike me as being very good publicity.

Yes, they're a joke. But it's not often you see a joke with such good design, and such witty incisive writing. I particularly liked this section:

"Possible confrontations under discussion include pushing Andrew Marr out of the way while passing him on a staircase, or thumping the back of Jeremy Paxman's chair so hard that he flinches in shock."

It's not often someone rattles Paxman, is it? Though winding him up is a different matter.

I really hope the Labour posters do at least try and capitalise on this, because one of the easiest - if perhaps unfair - ways to attack both Cameron and Osborne is their relative inexperience. Cameron himself has only held one other position in the Shadow Cabinet, and that was Education Secretary: if he gets in, he'll be the first Prime Minister not to have served in government or in more than one of the "top four" Shadow Cabinet posts (Blair was Shadow Home Secretary for two years).

Finally, here's my idea for a Lib Dem poster...

Not as easy as it looks! Heh.

Chris

Reply from Conservative MP Greg Hands

YAY!

Dear Christopher,

Greg has asked me to thank you very much on his behalf for your email, which he was extremely interested to read.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a work experience placement, as we are fully booked at present. Situations vary between different MPs’ offices, so it would definitely be worth contacting other MPs. I suggest it might be a good idea to contact the MP for any other address you might occupy/have links with in the UK.

I’m very sorry that we cannot be of further assistance, but I wish you the best of luck, both with your degree (I was at Exeter University myself!) and with finding a shadowing opportunity here in Parliament.

Kind regards

Emma Maguire
Parliamentary Assistant

Office of Greg Hands MP
Shadow Treasury Minister
House of Commons London SW1A 0AA

020 7219 5448

maguiree@parliament.uk; http://www.greghands.com/