A story too far

I wander whether the Times this morning is just stirring the embers of the Scottish debate.

Its lead story concerns a report that Gordon Brown has come under pressure fromcertain MP's to axe the so called Scottish mafia in his government.

Brown is being urged to give key jobs to ministers who can reach out to middle-class voters in England’s marginal seats.

says its political editor Jonathan Oliver.

He quotes the MP for Chorley Lindsay Hoyle, who reportedly says

Voters are looking to see a better balance within the cabinet to ensure that all the regions of England are represented.”

Surely this is a non story.If the party really and truly believes that this is the main issue,then it's time to go

Poll puts Tories further ahead

The Sunday Times will publish its latest poll results tomorrow that put the Tories 16points ahead of Labour.

Political betting says that besides being their highest lead since the days of Thatcherism

This poll equals that which Tony Blair got in his landslide victory in May 1997 and the margin is in excess of what Labour got at that general election.

The poll puts the Tories on 44%,Labour on 28% and the Lib Dems on 17%,and would give David Cameron a majority of over 100 seats.

Latest opinion polls in the Sunday's

The Sunday Times carries its latest opinion poll on its front page this morning.

According to a You Gov poll

Labour has slumped to its lowest poll rating since 1983, when Michael Foot was leader, as voters delivered a withering verdict on last week’s budget.
Gordon Brown’s party slipped to 27% – 16 points behind the Conservatives – amid growing concern about the government’s economic competence

A result that if repeated Nation Wide in an election would give the Tories a 120 seat majority.The survey suggests that

The main cause of the swing to the Conservatives is the collapse in faith in Brown and Darling’s stewardship of the economy. Just 21% of voters now say they would trust Labour more than the Conservatives to raise their family’s living standards, with the Tories in a decisive lead on this issue.

More bad news fro Gordon Brown and another poll in the News of the World has the Tory lead at 9%.Its ICM poll says

David Cameron's Conservatives are now almost as popular as Tony Blair's Labour were in 2002...a year after he won a second massive election landslide.
The poll also shows that for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997, support for the government has SLUMPED after a Budget.