And another thing…

PRIME Ministers don’t visit by-elections, and the David Camerons of this world are being dishonest by constantly referring to GB’s absence from the Glasgow East campaign.

Yes, Tony Blair went to two by-elections in his first term, and in so doing broke the convention that PMs don’t campaign in by-elections. He restored that convention before his second General Election victory (and rightly so) and it is a convention that GB has continued to honour (and rightly so).

So here’s a question for all those who think GB should have been in Crewe and in Glasgow East: did you also call for him to campaign in Sedgefield or Ealing Southall last year? No? Thought not.

Oh, dear. ‘Dave’ has decided to make the abolition of the 10p tax rate a central issue of the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. All very well if you want to commit to restoring it if you get back into power. But despite being harangued in the street by an angry voter and challenged on the issue, ‘Dave’ refused to commit himself to anything other than saying nice things and tilting his head in a sympathetic way.

At this point it should be pointed out that not only will ‘Dave’ not commit to restoring the 10p band – he’s also against tax credits, so neither will he support the government’s compensation package for those who have lost out. Why don’t you put that in your candidate’s leaflet, ‘Dave’?