Is Ashcroft’s money a reason for Brown to go early?
12:23pm
John Kampfner has a piece in The Guardian today urging caution on Labour and its supporters about the party’s electoral prospects because of the amount of resources Lord Ashcroft is pumping into the Tory’s target seats. Kampfner’s argument is that that the Tory money advantage combined with the fickle nature of the press means that come September Cameron’s fortunes will start to revive which suggests that an early poll is not the risk free exercise that some seem to think that it is.
Yet there is a case to be made that Ashcroft’s efforts are a reason for Labour to go early rather than spending the next 18 months trying to build up a war chest to match the Tories pound for pound. Once the campaign is formally under way the strict spending limits kick in and thus neutralise a lot of the Tory money advantage. I still don’t think that Brown will go early but the cash gap cuts both ways.
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MTK
August 6th, 2007 12:36pm Report this commentIn what sense can the Tories having more money "cut both ways"?
ACT
August 6th, 2007 12:37pm Report this commentOne would have thought it's a very good reason for Brown in the Queen's Speech to introduce legislation expressly banning this sort of pump-priming. What a pity Dave doesn't have any definite beliefs, not least *against* state funding of parties, and *for* the right of private indviduals to donate, where, when, how and to whom whatsoever they want. It might almost have made his opposition to any such legisaltion later this year sound like something other than tinny self-interest.
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