News from Labour Matters

Have the Tories just been caught trying to create an election-that-never-was-going-to-be?

What do the Tories do having lost 25% of a 26% opinion poll lead? Perhaps they might like to create a narrative that an election is being secretly planned, just like the-election-that-never-was, which spread the false notion that Gordon Brown is a “ditherer” and lead to a reversal of Tory fortunes in media and public opinion?

That’s the conclusion many are making following recent mutterings that a February General Election is being planned, in secret, by Number 10.

The speculation threatened to become more than a whisper at the weekend when the News Of the World issued publicity on a story they were aiming to run concerning a secret election planning meeting between Peter Mandelson and Charlie Whelan, then retracted the story just before publication saying that they doubted it’s authenticity.

Then today Tory blogger Iain Dale wrote an “exclusive” that Labour had booked billboard advertising space in January, which was subsequently strongly denied by both Labour and the advertising company.

Which leaves the question: who benefits from false election speculation, and how does it make the News of the World and Iain Dale feel to be used as useful idiots?

Other news from Labour Matters

• "Bleak unemployment figures are bad news" says John Denham - 12 October 2011
• Westminster Council to cut Taxicard budget by £500,000 a year - 11 August 2011
• Ed Miliband calls for action over phone hacking scandal - 5 July 2011