Parties hit the campaign trail to keep up debate momentum
By politics.co.uk staff
All three major parties hit the campaign trail today in a bid to maintain the momentum from last night’s TV debate.
Looking increasingly tired and weary, the three men set off with a message to voters that they won last night’s debate.
Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson and Harriet Harman were in Birmingham talking to students.
Brown: My duty to fight the Tories
“I’ve seen many election campaigns. But never has the agenda of the last seven days of a campaign been so clear. And we owe that to last night’s debate,” Lord Mandelson said.
But the Labour event was somewhat derailed when a car crash took place next door.
Labour’s poster launch ‘a car crash’
Tony Blair also hit the campaign trail for Labour today, with the former prime minister appearing in the south-east.
Meanwhile, Nick Clegg held a Q&A with students in Leicester, where two activists unhelpfully displayed Labour posters behind him as he spoke.
The Lib Dem leader later gave a short speech to the audience at the semi-final of the World Snooker Championships at his constituency in Sheffield.
Clegg takes his cue at the snooker
Meanwhile, the Conservatives released a ‘contract’ between the party and the public which is intended to define the party’s campaign in the final week of the campaign.
Cameron offers ‘contract’ to British people
The theme compliments that of the Tory manifesto, which ‘invited’ voters to join the Conservative government.
Two million copies of the contract will be distributed to voters in swing seats.
Conservative campaigners emerged optimistically from last night’s debate, but the party’s polling remains well below its pre-election level.
Bookmakers William Hill cut the Conservatives from 1/6 to 1/7 to win the most seats at the election – the shortest odds they have been since it was called.
“In the last couple of days the Tories have begun to draw clear of their opponents in betting terms, and Cameron’s win in the last tv debate accelerated their momentum,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.
Many analysts insist this weekend could be the most important moment of the general election campaign, with undecided voters firming up their decision.
