And they’re off! As we get set for the start of the big race in Liverpool tomorrow, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are busy trying to get you to back them.
Not since 1992 has the outcome of the General Election been so unpredictable. All the polls are suggesting a close run race, with most commentators saying it will be a photo finish, and a few reckoning that Team Cameron will win by a nose.
After thirteen years in power, Labour are definitely carrying a weighty handicap, and its jockey, Gordon Brown, is not the nimblest of riders that they may have wished for going into the big race. However, he and his party will be pushing experience as the big issue of the day, and hoping that this takes them over the finish line ahead of the other runners and riders.
The Tories message is clearly ‘change’. But in the midst of difficult economic times, will the electorate bet on a novice, or will they see it as too big a gamble to take?
Without a doubt, Nick Clegg, and his Liberal Democrats, is the outsider with long odds being offered for outright victory. Nevertheless, if it is as close a contest as many bookies are indicating, then he may be at the head of any stewards’ inquiry that takes place when all the votes have been counted by May 7th.
For my money, this one is still there for the Conservatives’ taking. Cameron will never have a better chance of becoming Prime Minister, and I’m betting on a Tory majority of between 20-30 seats. Still, it’s all to play for, and, as with the Grand National, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome between now and the end of a contest that is a marathon rather than a sprint.
