BB FANS

I will be cheering for Tony Blair & Labour - but then again, I don't live in the U.K. In 1985, I broke up with my then boyfriend, and found myself at a loose end for a week (we were supposed to be spending it together). Ended up watching the Labour Party Conference - such entertainment! Ever since I've been a Labour supporter, like others are Man U or Chelsea supporters. A bit of a loony-leftie. I even went to Greenham Common to Save the World - but while I could face sleeping outside in the cold in December, I couldn't cope with the hunger, and ended up becoming a fan of Pizza Hut in Newbury!

1997 was a good year - stayed up all night for the Election Results. Michael Portillo's face!

Ah but can Tony score against Juventus

He didn't do so well on Ant and Dec on Saturday night - Cherie saved the day.

Thu Apr 7, 2005

LONDON (Reuters) - Asda is to cash in on the country's forthcoming general election through a range of beers it hopes will slake thirsts across the political spectrum.

Labour Landslide Bitter is described as "confident and smooth" and "has a nice head that may not stay around too long", while Tory Triumph Bitter is "for the richer palate" and is brewed "without any continental ingredients".

In the spirit of balance there's also a Lib Dem Lift-Off Bitter ("perhaps more promise than it can deliver") as well as Plaid Cymru and SNP Independence Ales ("strong undercurrent of grass roots but may not travel well").

Priced at 1.48 pounds a bottle, the beers will be available at 220 Asda stores, and Asda spokesman Dominic Burch said the range could turn out to be a useful aid to the pollsters.

"Depending on how many bottles we sell of each type, we can tell how well each party is doing in the election," he said, adding the beers were equally suited to accompanying victory celebrations or electoral post-mortems.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Friday, April 08, 2005 .Deadmenleft

Punt of the day

Ladbrokes shortens George Galloway's odds for beating Blair Babe Oona King in Bethnal Green.

Labour's Oona King 4/6.
Respect Unity Coalition's George Galloway 7/4, from 8/1.

Conservative Shahagir Bakth Faruk 6/1.

Lib-Dem Syed Nurul Islam Dulu 25/1.



News of the launch rally filtering through... I also notice that three Cabinet Ministers have trooped down to Bethnal Green in the last few days. And they say New Labour isn't worried. You can smell the fear.

MAVERICK ex-Labour MP George Galloway stepped up his row with poll rival Oona King by accusing her of "suspicious" practices.

The former Glasgow Kelvin MP claimed Ms King had written to voters in Bethnal Green and Bow seat in east London, enclosing a postal vote application form to be returned to the Labour Party and not returning officers.

Mr Galloway denied claims by Ms King that Respect party workers had told Muslims not to vote for her because she was Jewish.

EveningTimes

Tuesday April 12, 05:19 PM .SkyNews

The Conservatives have found themselves at the centre of a storm over a faked photo in one of their campaign leaflets. Tory candidate Ed Matts changed his snapshot to reflect the Tories' anti-immigration policy.Labour and the Lib Dems want him to be sacked.

But Mr Matts, who is fighting for control of one of the most marginal seats in the country, remains a Conservative candidate.

He said: "I apologise for making a foolish mistake - I had no intention of causing any embarrassment.

"However, being involved in an individual asylum case is not inconsistent with the Conservative view that Britain's asylum system is in urgent need of attention."

Conservative leader, Michael Howard admitted: "It should not have been done and the candidate concerned has apologised for it - and so he should."

The original picture showed Mr Matts, the Conservative candidate for Dorset South, holding a placard with a picture of Verah Kachepa and her four children who were facing being returned to Malawi.

Alongside him, Tory former home office minister Ann Widdecombe is shown with a placard with the slogan "Let them stay".

But in the version which appeared on Mr Matts's campaign literature, the picture of Ms Kachepa is missing and has been replaced with the slogan "Controlled immigration", while Ms Widdecombe's slogan has been changed to read "Not chaos and inhumanity".

Health Secretary John Reid has written to Michael Howard urging him to sack Mr Matts.

He wrote: "To pose in one picture in support of an asylum seeker, and then doctor the same picture for a political stunt is sick. If you fail to act then you will have sent out the message your candidates can do anything they like to fuel a wholly negative campaign."

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Menzies Campbell also wants the Tories to drop their candidate.

He said: "Howard Flight was sacked by the Conservatives for telling the truth. Ed Matts should be sacked for telling lies."

Dorset South is number three on the Conservatives' list of target seats for May 5.

Labour has a majority of just 153 votes.

Is Tory Australian guru thinking what Australian children's TV is thinking?



Bananas in Pyjamas: the Tory slogan is remarkably similar to the show's catchphrase

The Conservatives today dismissed suggestions that they borrowed their election slogan from an Australian children's TV series.

As party slogans go, "Are you thinking what we're thinking?" has captured the imagination of headline writers and already inspired Tony Blair to ask voters, "Are you remembering what we're remembering?" in a reference to the Tories' last stint in office.

But last night Newsnight featured a brief clip from an unidentified Australian TV series that uses the same catchphrase, begging the question "Was Michael Howard thinking what Bananas in Pyjamas were thinking?"

The fact that Mr Howard has hired the Australian prime minister's guru Lynton Crosby to advise him on his election strategy will fuel suspicions.

The Tory slogan is remarkably similar to the catchphrase of the long-running pre-school puppet show, which follows the adventures of two cheeky bananas in pyjamas, rather unimaginatively called B1 and B2.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, B2?" asks the first banana. "I think I am, B1," replies B2. "It's Bananas in Pyjamas time!"

The exchange will be instantly familiar to the show's millions of fans, which airs on children's channel Nick Jr - Nickelodeon's junior stablemate.

Conservative central office said today the similarity of the two phrases was "pure coincidence".

"The slogan grew organically out of the fact that a lot of the concerns of the British people are the same concerns as we have," said a spokesman. "Whether Lynton used to watch the show with his children in Australia, I have no idea."

A spokesman for Nick Jr said: "We are flattered that politicians watch Bananas in Pyjamas. If any of the other parties need inspiration we have plenty of other characters to choose from."

Labour or the Liberal Democrats might like to follow Spongebob Squarepants' lead, whose catchphrases include "I'm confident in my ability to successfully succeed", and "Panic is the enemy".

Bananas in Pyjamas has proved popular around the world, with more than 200 episodes made so far. It airs in 70 countries with 100 million viewers worldwide.

Familiar from Conservative advertising hoardings around the country, and prominent on the lectern whenever Michael Howard makes a speech, the slogan has become a familiar phrase in the general election debate. However, it has also been subverted by the Tories' opponents, with sketchwriters asking: "Are you drinking what they're drinking?"

Bananas in Pyjamas began on ABC in Australia in 1992. Each episode features the two bananas playing a trick on one of their friends, who include three teddies, Amy, Lulu and Morgan, and the scheming Rat in a Hat.

ABC's publicity for the show said Bananas in Pyjamas is "one of Australia's greatest exports - up with the likes of Greg Norman and Kylie. They have travelled the world, visited the White House and met the president of the United States. To top it off, they were also included in the closing ceremony at the Sydney Olympics. You don't get any bigger than that."

But one review on the Internet Movie Data Base website described it as the "most frightening television show ever produced. The Bananas in Pyjamas look like escaped convicts and they live in a surrealist nightmare world where nothing is as it should be."

Mr Howard recruited Mr Crosby after he helped the Australian prime minister, John Howard, return from the political wilderness to achieve four successive election victories. mediaguardian

Noel's had Phil of Tories





NOEL GALLAGHER wants fans to vote Labour — to stop PHIL COLLINS making a musical comeback.

Former GENESIS star Phil has previously threatened to relaunch his pop career if the Conservatives win — and that doesn't sit well with the OASIS guitarist. Sun

Surrey Police has pledged to fight election fraud both at polling stations and with postal votes.

Systems have been put in place to ensure that any reports of electoral fraud are taken seriously and police will be working closely with electoral officials to identify and prevent fraud.

Detective Superintendent Brian Boxall, who will lead any investigations into electoral fraud, said: "Any allegation of electoral fraud will be dealt with as a very serious crime.

"We have teams of specialist investigators and forensic experts who are experienced in dealing with this type of crime and will not hesitate to prosecute and bring offenders to justice.

"Although rare, rising incidences of fraud are unfortunately being reported across the county.

"With the Electoral Commission predicting that up to 15 per cent of the electorate will choose to cast their votes by post, it is important that the public of Surrey is reassured that officers will take very seriously any reported attempts to undermine the democratic electoral system.

"It is important that the integrity of the electoral system is not undermined."

On general election day, mobile uniform patrols will be visiting polling stations and will be present at the count to prevent, deter and detect any offences.

4:31pm today
BBC