To lose the support of liberal-minded voters in the south might be considered a misfortune. To lose working-class support in the north looks like carelessness.
It is striking that the old bag of tricks isn’t working any more. Brown’s favourite party piece is the so-called “wedge issue” that divides the Tories from their natural supporters in the electorate. But nowadays the wedge drives his core small-“l” liberal support ever further away from Labour.
And where is Brown’s core message? Others have mocked Brown’s war on waste conducted from the champagne and caviar tables of the G8 summit, but his silence on knife crime is more telling. While murder and mayhem dominated the news, it took a fortnight for the prime minister to issue a brief statement. Even now he hasn’t made a single speech about law and order. That wins him no friends at Islington’s sharp white dinner tables. Labour’s metropolitan supporters fret about the safety of their children on the mean streets as much any Tory mum or dad.
The Sunday Times/YouGov poll today says the voters think he is not Heathcliff but vindictive and bloody Macbeth. The Scottish play, you will remember, is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, but this production looks protracted.
The Tory 22 point lead continues to hold. That's a "working" majority over all other parties of 238 seats! [47% of the vote gives one 444 seats, (/650) which I make 68.3% of the House.]
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