Lib Dem: You can’t trust the f***ing Tories

It seems we are inching towards a deal between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with both leaders due to meet their MPs today.

They should not underestimate the unease and distrust in their ranks at the – especially among the Westcountry contingent who have just spent four weeks slogging it out in one of the dirtiest election campaigns many said they had seen.

Today’s Western Morning News contains a number of juicy comments from both Tories and Lib Dems – some on the record, some off – which should give the consensual negotiators pause for thought.

It seems to have brought out the potty-mouthed worst among them.

Liberal Democrats

One Lib Dem in the region said a deal with the Conservatives would be a "f***ing travesty". This morning on the way into a sun-drenched Parliament, a Lib Dem MP told me: “You can’t trust the f***ing Tories.”
Another frontbencher said: "Not many Lib Dems joined the Lib Dems to help the Tories, but every party lost so we are where we are. There are probably quite a lot of Tories who are not thrilled by the prospect of working with Liberal Democrats."

On electoral reform, a Devon Lib Dem source said: "This is what we have been waiting for, for 80 years. The economic crisis is huge but will continue for a few years. Constitutional reform would last 100 years. I am left with the slight sense the Tories are just leading us a dance and don't really want a deal at all."

Conservatives
Tories in the region seem no keener to cosy up to Lib Dems.
Hugo Swire, Tory MP for East Devon and a former member of the Mr Cameron's shadow cabinet, ridiculed the idea that the Lib Dems are "the new, fresh party", saying they had been a "disaster" when running Westcountry councils.
"The reason we kicked them out of overall control in Cornwall, the reason we kicked them out of Devon County Council and Somerset County Council… is we know how completely useless they are when they are in power."
One option understood to be being considered is a "confidence and supply" deal, under which the Lib Dems would undertake not to bring down a minority Conservative administration in return for assurances on certain policy areas.

"Given how flaky the Liberals are, how long that will last, who knows," Mr Swire added.

Labour

A Labour source claims Lib Dems in the region will defect to them on mass: "There will be mass insurrection among the Liberal Democrat grassroots."
And Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw said: "I still find it hard to believe that the Lib Dems would agree to a deal with the Conservatives without a referendum on electoral reform and if they fail to reach a deal with the Conservatives then our door is always open.

"We support a fair voting system. It was in our manifesto. There is an alternative to a Con-Lib collation, in a progressive alliance of Lib Dems, Labour, possibly the moderate Northern Ireland parties, that could deliver that historic political reform and manage the country and the economy stably for the next two or three years."
2pm UPDATE: All morning I have been speaking to MPs, new and old, of all three parties. A selection of their views:
Labour: "Brown must go, it's just a question of when. He was toxic on the doorstep."
Tory MP on Lib-Dems: "They will sh*t on you, they will be b*st*rds and then they will stab you in the back."
Lib Dem MP telling Tories: "Play your cards right and I'll make you my PPS."

Exit poll – are Westcountry Lib Dems in trouble?

So the exit poll is saying: Con 307
Lab 255
Lib Dem 59
Other 29
For the Lib Dems to LOSE seats is remarkable after all the excitement of Cleggmania. With Tories and Lib Dems across the Westcountry admitting they had not seen the post debate surge for Clegg witnessed elsewhere in the country, I suspect this poll could mean gains for the Tories in the South West against the Lib Dems, while the Lib Dems make gains in the north against Labour.
All politicans are queuing up to say exit polls are always wrong, though mainly citing 1992.
But Paddy Ashdown on ITV has been magnificent: “Your figures are inaccurate … polls are nearly always innaccuare, wildly inaccurate."

Have the Tories really wasted their money?

Driving around the Westcountry it is impossible not to notice the huge amount of money the Conservatives have spent in the key marginals. Huge campaign posters - many featuring US-style grinning colour photos of candidates - line verges, fields and gardens.

It is impossible to drive into any of the major towns without passing a billboard plastered with the latest Tory attack on Labour, or a giant David Cameron looking down on you.

On one visit to the Torbay seat, I arrived to find a new Tory attack poster being pasted over an old "I've never voted Tory before..." one. Literally money to burn, it would seem.

But speaking to David Miliband this morning, as part of a round of regional interviews he was doing post-debate, he made an interesting point.

“We haven’t got the money the Tories have. The party that’s spent the most money has, according to the opinion polls, lost the most votes.”

It is true the Tory poll lead slumped just as the campaign really got underway. And Lord Ashcroft surprisingly quickly became a well-known shorthand for Tory ‘outsider’ money, which many in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset don’t like.

But it has also created a sense of momentum, and of taking an interest in a region which has long felt ignored, especially by the two largest parties.

The Liberal Democrats have quietly grumbled about the Tory spending, while reluctantly admitting they wouldn’t be spending the huge sums if it didn’t work.

Just how well it has "worked" is not clear. We’ll have to wait another week for that.

Campaign gets dirty – students arrested for spraying vote Lib-Dem on Tory posters

Candidates from all parties have privately grumbled over the last few weeks about how the campaign was unlike any they had known before. It was, in short, getting dirty.

Rumours circulated that one candidate had left his wife and set up home with a party colleague. Labour punted out claims a Tory had been posting obscenities on the web. Both were false.

Across the patch, the battle for the hedgerows was fierce. The Tories seemed to be winning, with the most roadside posters though the famous orange Lib Dem diamonds were also in abundance.

But all was not well. Posters – especially Tory and Lib Dem ones- were disappearing or being vandlised.

Now I report in today’s Western Morning News how two students have been arrested for spraying pro-Liberal Democrat messages on Conservative campaign posters.
A man and a woman, university students from Falmouth, were caught defacing a Tory party sign in Truro on Saturday evening, a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police confirmed.

“They also admitted to defacing a number of others, in total eight, between Truro and Falmouth,” he said. “They had used spray cans to put Lib Dem slogans on them.”

The officer in the case, PC Andrew Brocklehurst, decided it would be best to deal with the incident by way of restorative justice and has been in talks with the Conservative Party candidate Sarah Newton. (right)

A spokesman for the Lib Dems in the South West said they “utterly condemn any criminal damage or theft to posters or other election material”.

She added: “It is regrettable that theft and graffiti to posters of all parties – both of which are matters for the police – seem to be rife during this campaign.

“In some cases the damage to Lib Dem posters has been highly distressing to the households involved, with perpetrators trespassing on to gardens and private property, and using saws and wire cutters to pull down signs.

“We have reported every incident involving Lib Dem posters to the police.”

This includes the discovery of 68 of Lib Dem poster boards found dumped at Bickington on Dartmoor on Tuesday.

Tory candidate Ms Newton said her Conservative supporters, including many elderly people, had been intimidated by the attacks.

But the quote of the day though comes from Camborne and Redruth Tory candidate George Eustice.

“I have had my eyes cut out with a Stanley knife.”

Leader's debate - a verdict, of sorts

The economy was big stuff, and it was time for the big boys. It turned into Cameron v Brown. Clegg peaked too early in the debates, and he struggles with some of his policies. He could have done with Vince sitting on his shoulder.

It’s the economy stupid. Everyone knows that some nasty cuts are coming after next Thursday. All three leaders were put on the spot. All three said they were going to be “frank” and then danced around specifics. You can’t blame them. There is an election next week.

David Cameron, in need of a strong performance, got off to a confident start and built on it. He probably came out on top. It's not clear he has done enough to seal the deal but he came closer than he has in the last two debates. Brown's attack on inheritance tax was repetitive but hits home.

Gordon Brown, one-time Iron Chancellor, is convinced everyone else is wrong on the economy. He tackled the ‘bigotgate’ episode head-on, saying it was an example of how he doesn’t always get the job of PM right. But, he said, he did know how to run the economy. Tory spin doctors quickly claimed this was the “first joke of the night”.

He slammed the “same old Conservative party of the 1980s and 1990s” – a charge which will sting in the Westcountry.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg again made his plea for politicians to “work together… to be open and straight about how big the black hole is”. Fat chance. This is a fight to the death, a fight in which he was in danger of looking like a spectator.
These debates have been game changers. Not just for the three men at the podiums – and Mr Clegg remains the greatest beneficiary – but for the electorate as a whole.

Of course there is still apathy, trust remains low and anger still fizzes over expenses and immigration.

But after years of politicians complaining that their words are twisted by us nasty hacks, these debates have been a platform for them to set out their stall. The claim that all the parties are the same has subsided. Real differences have emerged over Trident, voting reform and, tonight, the economy.

Go back to your constituencies and prepare for (a) government.

POLLS
YouGov/Sun: Cameron 41%, Clegg 32%, Brown 25%
ComRes: Cameron 35%, Clegg 33%, Brown 26%
Angus Reid: Cameron 36%, Clegg 31%, Brown 23%


Moment of the Night:
Michael Gove on Sky tells Charlie Whelan he may be out of a job next week and Tories would help him "quickly out of welfare and into work". Brilliant.

Pulling pints with Eric Pickles

Tory activists these days go to a lot of trouble to make their big name visitors feel welcome. T-shirts are pulled on – often bizarrely over long-sleeve shirts and even ties – while placards are waved and cries of "change" ring out.

Yesterday, it seemed they had gone to trouble of immortalising Conservative party chairman Eric Pickles on a pub sign. There was definitely a similarity between the straight-talking Yorkshireman and the bespectacled monk on the board 10 feet overhead.

Read the full piece from today's Western Morning News here

The leaders send mixed messages - no wonder voters are confused

So, Clegg won't prop up Brown. Brown needs Clegg. Cameron doesn't want to want Clegg, but Ashdown says Clegg can't work with Cameron.
Meanwhile, the Tories spin that they are now focussing on Labour seats in the north which they previously felt were out of reach.
But just when cats across the Westcountry thought it was safe to doze behind the front door, another 500,000 Tory leaflets are being sent to target Lib Dem marginals.
The ongoing excitement of the Lib Dems holding their place in the polls disguises the truly shocking picture for Labour, trailling in third in more polls than not.
Party managers are growing increasingly concerned about Ben Bradshaw's seat in Exeter, where aides admit it is "neck and neck" with Tory Hannah Foster. The Tory love-bombing in Plymouth could also pay dividends in Linda Gilroy's seat.
The Lib Dems hope that Nick Clegg's ongoing popularity on the national stage will save them in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, though activists admit they have not seen a huge surge in support on the doorstep in the last two weeks, in part because the Lib Dems are already well known in the region.
So, Monday morning on the train to Plymouth. While the final result will go down to the wire, this could be the week when the election is won or lost by one of the three main parties.

At last – those two defections to the Tories

More than a week ago, I sparked a bit of a flurry of interest by posting what I believed to be imminent news that two Lib Dems were jumping ship to the Tories. I can now reveal that the two defectors are long-standing Lib Dems, who had been sitting as Liberals for the last three years, after becoming increasing upset at the party.

Tony and Simon Inch, who currently sit as Liberal Councillors for Bideford South in Torridge District Council, are backing Conservative Geoffrey Cox (right) in his campaign for re-election in Torridge and West Devon.

Tony Inch, a former Mayor of Bideford and respected town and district councillor, said: “Simon and I have always had a good working relationship with Geoffrey.”

“We know how hard he works. He has always been friendly, approachable and supportive. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you have a problem he is your MP and that is all that counts.”

“We are both campaigning for Geoffrey to carry on being our MP. He is a true local constituency MP who works for the whole community first and foremost.”

The brothers left the Liberal Democrats in July 2007 in disgust after it emerged a colleague in the party was running a sex chat-line and advertising stripteases on the Internet.

Last night Mr Cox said: “I am proud to have won the support of Tony and Simon, whom I greatly respect as really good servants of our community. Their support shows that more and more people of traditional Liberal beliefs are increasingly seeing the modern Conservative Party as a congenial home.”

It marks a major move for the Inch brothers, and is a reflection on the way the Tory party is viewed in the Westcountry. I know of other long-standing Lib Dem supporters elsewhere in Devon and Cornwall, who come from the more traditional, Methodist history of the party, who are upset at the way the party has selected candidates and some of its campaigning methods.

However, it is not all one way traffic.Last week it emerged the former chairman of the Redruth Labour party Janet Brook had switched to back Lib-Dem Julia Goldsworthy in Camborne and Redruth. Mrs Brook said the Labour had changed, adding: “The Lib Dems are the only party standing up for ordinary working people”.

This defection clearly did not upset Labour's candidate Jude Robinson, who posted on Twitter:

The Lib Dems getting desperate in #Camborne. A 'switcher' that no-one has heard of and another who was last seen in 2001. #bestyoucando?

Cameron and Clegg head to head in the West

From the moment the Tory leader stepped on to Cornish soil yesterday lunchtime, there was an air of trouble.

“Oi, Cameron, where’s yer bike?” came the first heckle. “On the bus,” he replied quickly, if nonsensically.

Before David Cameron arrived in the library at Cornwall College Saltash, the principal had to remind them of their language. “You can get excited and say things you didn’t mean.”

I don’t think she was referring to the female student who later boasted she wanted to be a Conservative Prime Minister. In fact the questions from the students were incisive and a damn sight more interesting than those from the media haggle and TV tarts hovering at the back.

There were times when Mr Cameron (graying around the neckline) risked sounding patronizing. Telling the (mostly) first time voters to “vote for my team, the blue team" was horribly Playschool, but every party needs the ‘yoof’ vote. Thank goodness he didn’t rap.

Adult education, spending cuts, financial help for students, Afghanistan, Israel… on and on he went. When he got into his stride on regional quangos, one or two of the teenagers tried unsuccessfully to stifle yawns. It was in danger of getting boring.

And then, crack! Eggs! Panic stations. Who saw it, who threw it, who’s got the first pun?

In fact what can quickly be billed as an attack on an elected representative was actually missed by almost every hack, who were too busy kicking their heels and wondering what time the bus left.

The egg-thrower didn’t even have the manners to hang round and give us his full name, address and voting intention.

I am sure it is just a coincidence that the Liberal Democrat tour bus is the colour of a yolk - sunny side up. On the outfield of Redruth Cricket Club, a young girl, no more than eight, bowled Nick Clegg a googly.

“What can you do as Prime Minister that David Cameron and Gordon Brown can’t.”
Surprisingly, Mr Clegg (greying around the temples) was stumped, waffling for two minutes and surmising: “There you go, a rubbish answer.” It was.
Quite what the primary school children thought of it all wasn’t clear. With loudspeakers blaring across the field, the whole thing had an air of a school fete. Without the fun.
But then, as they kept telling us yesterday, these are serious times. At least the sun was out.

Tories winning battle of the hedgerows

The Tories are winning one battle in the Westcountry. The one for the hedgerows.
Driving from Plymouth to Saltash, then on to Redruth before heading back to Truro, Conservative Vote for Change placards were everywhere – in fields, up trees, on roundabouts, derelict buildings. You name it, Lord Ashcraft will pin a poster to it.
The Lib Dems were easily second, though the bright orange diamonds look a bit old-fashioned next to the Tories’ colour-printed photos of their candidates.
In the 80-odd miles I’ve covered today, I have seen just one Labour poster. And a small one at that.
Cornish nationalists Mebyon Kernow managed a good half a dozen.
UKIP had a couple too.
Much excitement with the egg-throwing hoodies in Saltash attacking David Cameron. A fine political tradition, and it was one of the heavies which bore the brunt of the mess.
Nick Clegg’s media circus seems to be growing, though the veterans of the yellow battlebus are wearying of hearing the same anecdotes.
When Clegg was stood silently waiting to speak to Sky News, surrounded by supporters, he enquired: “How long is this going to go on for?”
His battle-hardened press spokesman replied: “Another two weeks.”
I know how she feels. Tomorrow, St Austell then Helston. And I’ve still not had an ice-cream.

Labour talk about Tory win

We were summoned to the super-futuristic, super-trendy surroundings of Bloomberg in the City, to hear about Labour plans for the economy.

Instead, all we got was Labour talking about the Tory plans for the economy, and surprise, surprise, how Labour don’t agree with them.

We even had to endure a fake radio report, which they obviously had a lot of fun with in the Labour press office.

The premise was it is the morning of June 25, George Osborne has just delivered his emergency budget, widespread horror from just about everyone.
Even Alistair Campbell got a look in, posing as a sports reporter who managed to get political, talking about an Anglo-German row at the World Cup. All very amusing/cringe-worthy* (delete as appropriate).

It seems a major gamble for Labour to keep on talking as if the Tories are going to win.

And the idea that it will be all sunshine and happy days if Labour win, without any job losses in the public sector after the election, is just as fanciful as the radio broadcast and this website (above) which they have also launched.
On an unconnected note, Gordon Brown repeatedly referred to “mainstream public services”.
It sounds like the sort of wooly phrase which joins the long list of “hard-working” families and people on “middle” incomes.
But could it be paving the way for cuts in the “non-mainstream” public services.
An where will they be?