Why he should go for it

It knackers Lord Ashcroft's key seats strategy: The Tories have spent the last couple of years stuffing crisp tenners into the G-strings of their candidates in the chosen marginals, but as soon as the election is called legislation governing spending kicks in, ending these shenanigans. The longer Gord leaves it, the more money can be spent destabilising Labour incumbents.
It ain't all rosy for Cameron in the polls: Underlying polling figures show Brown's streets ahead of Cameron in terms of who is trusted to run the country and the economy (although this suffered a dent in the most recent analysis). The post-Conference "Cameron bounce" may well turn out to be short-lived.

Brown's age: If he holds out until 2010, Brown will be just months shy of 60 whilst Cameron (if he survives that long) will be not yet 44. Next to the youthful boy wonder, Gord might, at that stage, look like an exhumation order waiting to happen. Remember how the PM's job aged
Blair? Think on.

Gives Brown an excuse for a Cabinet reshuffle afterwards:
You might think that we are suggesting that this would be an ideal opportunity to get rid of some deadwood; Westmonster couldn't possibly comment.

He's boxed in: After months of hyping up the chances of a snap poll, he would look silly if he doesn't follow through, with Cameron roaring "bring it on" into anything that vaguely resembles a microphone. Some think that, since he allowed the speculation to fester while it suited him, he has no choice but to jump onto the bandwagon now and pray for deliverance.

The LibDems are at a low ebb: Ming who?

Downturn in the economy? A fall in house prices was reported today, with a suggestion that Things Can Only Get Worse.

What will Dubya bomb next? Just over a year to go to secure his legacy and things are getting desperate. The Isle of Wight has been put on red alert.

It'll upset the kids: Parliament is awash with sweet young twenty-one year olds, all labouring under the delusion that they are the key plank in the election campaign. You don't want to make them cry, do you Gord? Well, do you?

If he doesn't, he might go down in history as the man who was afraid of David Cameron: Nothing to add here.

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Oct 2007 6:10 PM. Permalink