Ed Miliband seems to have transferred his support to the No campaign. It must be that as he is not helping his cause this morning as he slams Nick Clegg in the Sunday Times. The No campaign I am sure is thankful for the extra help.
He accuses Clegg of being a “massive hindrance” to Yes to Fairer votes campaign. In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine the Labour leader says that “Cleggmania has turned to Cleggphobia” and the public feel fooled by his claim to be “new and different”.
None of this is, of course, news. Clegg in this last week can not seem to shut himself up as the referendum campaign heads toward a conclusion that looks increasingly like a disaster. Miliband looks to be getting his excuses in early as Clegg gets fitted up to take the fall. The Sunday Mirror speculates that Clegg may face a leadership challenge after a drubbing on AV not to mention disaster in the local polls. Do they elect the leader of the Liberal Democrats using AV?
It is obviously clear to Miliband that the Yes campaign has lost, but is this the kind of leader anyone wants leading the Labour party if he starts dumping on political partners, no matter how temporary, in public?
News of Miliband’s finger pointing comes as new polls continue to give the No campaign a big lead. In a BPIX poll for the Mail on Sunday 51% said they would reject the alternative vote giving the No campaign an 18 percentage point lead.
A separate poll in the Sunday Times showed the No campaign on 45% and the Yes campaign on 35%. In both cases a double point lead. The almost certain defeat appears to be turning the Lib Dems stupid. Last week nergy Minister Chris Huhne threatened legal action against the Tories over the AV campaign. Huhne said Conservative members of the Coalition should come clean over “untruths” on AV, or face “legal redress”.
The Sunday Times says that hostilities have escalated this weekend when it emerged that Huhne had sent a letter to Chancellor George Osborne calling on him to withdraw “falsehoods” and “fiddled figures” that Huhne alleges are the basis for the Chancellor’s claim that the adoption of AV would cost taxpayers £250m, partly because it would require new, expensive voting machines.
Huhne said that it was frankly worrying “if you have colleagues who you’ve respected, and who you’ve worked well with, who are making claims which have no foundation in truth whatsoever”.
Can someone call Huhne and remind him he is in a coalition government with the Tories? The man apparently has no idea whatsoever.
