Leicester Mercury political correspondent
General Election: Red alert
It isn’t just Parliamentary candidates who have General Election battle plans. I’ve had one in my inbox for the past couple of weeks. It was the result of a creative get-together of some fellow Mercury staffers where we threw around ideas on how to cover this year’s big vote.
It’s a gigantic to-do list which hasn’t really been tackled head on yet. After all, the election won’t be called until early April – right?
Perhaps not. The rumour mill is cranked up a notch tonight, suggesting Gordon Brown will call a General Election this weekend. Tomorrow, on his birthday, he’s down the road in Coventry to reveal the party’s election slogan and campaign themes – but will he also call an election?
Will Heaven at the Telegraph sums up the reasons behind the speculation:
Douglas Alexander, Labour’s General Election Coordinator, has tweeted the following message: “Thanks 4 all ur warm welcomes – just got back to office and impressed with the response. Big day for Labour 2moro, will keep u updated.”
Another point of intrigue: Peter Mandelson and Ben Bradshaw have, according to Henry Macrory, pulled out of this evening’s BAFTA awards at the last minute.
Will Gordon Brown call a General Election tomorrow? Might it be an April date?
I’d planned to go to Birmingham tomorrow for a day strolling around the Bullring. Those plans are now on ice. I now fully expect to be sat up in Mercury Towers instead, finally putting our battle plan into action.
Update: Well that was a load of hot air. No election called, so I went to Birmingham instead.
