Labour lead

Or, at least, that’s what it says today. Yesterday it said Ed Miliband was a wimp who hadn’t a chance. Who knows what it’ll say tomorrow? The news, and the electorate, seem to be alarmingly volatile, ready to change direction at the whim of a headline.

There’s an old-fashioned bit of me, the bit that used to attend meetings and go canvassing, that perks up every time I hear good news of Labour. But then I think about what they’re actually saying – that we need this austerity, that free schools are a priority, that youngsters receiving benefit need punishing – and my heart sinks again. I don’t know who’ll get us out of this mess, but it’s unlikely to be them.