What is this Blog all about

This Blog is here for me to write my thoughts on the election campaign both nationally, and locally in Kingston and Surbiton, for the forthcoming General Election.
A few weeks ago I thought that the idea of a winter election was nonsense. However it now appears as if the momentum is such that Gordon Brown will have little choice but to call one. It seems ludicrous that here in the UK the Prime Minister has the power to call an election at any time within a five year envelope. The power to do that gives the ruling party a massive advantage over opponents. However the Opposition cannot complain too much. Both David Cameron and Sir Menzies Campbell called for a General Election shortly after Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair.
Labour has a sustained lead over the Conservatives in the Polls. Newly selected candidates have had little time to make themselves known to the local electorate. The election speculation has forced the Conservatives to announce policy positions which take them back to basics. Tax cuts for the well off funded in part by forcing sick people back to work. The Liberal Democrats are polling poorly seeming irrelevant however providing policy ideas which the main two parties cherry pick. So it seems good for Labour.
However do we really know what might be in a Labour manifesto? Well no. It seems that they will be fighting a campaign based on experience, strength and judgement. Highly personalised pitting Brown against Cameron. Yet Labour poll badly in Scotland and any prolonged probing of the record of the Government on Iraq or violent crime for example and it all unravels a bit.
So if Brown goes for it it will be a fascinating election. The positions of the parties are built on quicksand and will easily fluctuate. Events could swing things. If people come to think that they are being bounced (frightened) into giving Labour 5 more years in an unfair manner then things may turn against them.
In my local constituency here Edward Davey the current Liberal Democrat MP will be fighting Helen Whately the Conservative candidate. Only recently selected Helen is really unknown amongst people in the constituency and will have her work cut out to make any inroads into Ed Daveys 8,000 majority. Labour simply do not have the capacity to fight a campaign here and you would have thought will be helping out in local seats where it is important to retain a Labour MP in power. Controversial decisions by the local Liberal Democrat Council may help the Conservatives however the grip on the constituency which the incumbent holds has just been graphically illustrated by the local newspaper the Surrey Comet. Just last week in launching a 'stop health cuts campaign' in conjunction with Edward Davey the Conservatives were nowhere to be seen.
Here, I hope to record my thoughts on events of the next few weeks.