March 2: Labour cheerful as polls narrow
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WITH the polls narrowing, have Labour Kent MPs sitting on
uncomfortably small majorities any grounds for optimism that come
May 6, they might still have an outside chance of hanging on to
their seats?
I had an interesting chat with
Dr Steve Ladyman, who is defending a slim majority
of 664 in Thanet South MP, about how he sees things.
He told me that his own canvass
returns suggests the trend in the national opinion polls does not
mirror what he is finding on the doorstep.
And not quite in the way you’d
expect. "My canvass returns show very little change from 2005. We
have talked to thousands of people since Christmas…I’ve been
surprised that the opinion polls have had a Tory lead…it is no
surprise to me that they are narrowing."
He even challenges the
conventional wisdom that in the most marginal seats, the gap
between Labour and the Conservatives is much wider than the
national polls suggest, with his party much further behind in seats
where they are being targeted.
"That is something the Tories
are putting out. It might be true in marginal seats where MPs are
standing down but not in those where you have well-established and
hard-working MPs."
Bravado? Possibly. But he
compares the election ahead to a race in which Labour was a mile
behind but now feels it is only 100-metres back and that the race
leader is tiring.
I also sense that the on-going
row over Lord Ashcroft - who has contributed to
the fighting funds of candidates in many marginals, including Kent
- has given Labour some respite.
Perversely, the tightening of
the polls might actually be the kind of wake-up call
the Conservatives need.
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KENT County Council appears to be leaving nothing
to chance when it comes to ensuring that the Turner
Centre in Margate is built to spec.
One of the gallery’s most
distinctive features will be the opague glass cladding on the
outside of the building, which we are told will capture and reflect
the changing light that was, of course, Turner’s own
inspiration.
A delegation from County Hall
travelled to Bregenz in Austria
last February to look at a gallery clad in a similar material. Or,
as KCC puts it "to discuss the management, maintenance and
cleansing arrangements of the façade with the technical director of
the museum."
Or in other words, making sure
the cladding can withstand what the hostile elements can sometimes
throw at Margate.
The party included Cllr
Mike Hill, KCC’s cabinet member for community services,
who is determined to make sure nothing goes awry with Turner Mark
Two and Amanda Honey, KCC’s managing director of
communities.
The costs of the two-day trip
came in at just under £1,000. While KCC has had a
reputation in the past for some questionable travels abroad, for
once this seems to be one that was probably justified.
When you’re spending £17.2m,
perhaps it’s as well not to leave anything to chance – especially
given the chequered history of Turner Mark One.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Medway council
chiefs have been up at City Hall talking to London deputy
mayor Kit Malthouse about why they don't like
Boris's plans for an island airport off north Kent.
KCC did not join the delegation
and apparently there is nothing imminent in the diary.
Perhaps the
frosty exchanges between KCC leader Paul Carter and Boris
Johnson have something to do with it.
Tuesday, March 02 2010
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