Tuesday, 20 April 2010

A new eruption of the Icelandic volcano last night threw plans to get Britain flying again into chaos, reports the Daily Mail

Air passengers who were told their flights would be resumed today from UK airports had their hopes dashed after more cancellations were announced. A new ash cloud heading towards the country has forced all London Airports to remain closed, while others in England might be open from 1pm, but this was not certain, and Scottish airports will open at 7am.

BA had planned to resume flights from its London airports today but last night they were forced to cancel those plans, we are told.

This is getting to be a nightmare without end. Several airlines are on the brink of collapse, and stranded passengers are getting increasingly desperate. And, with impeccable Gallic timing, French railway workers have gone on strike. Plans to feed them into a volcano crater, as human sacrifices, have so far been vetoed by the French government.

ICELAND'S REVENGE THREAD

The Daily Mail details no less than five opinion polls. They variously put the Tories on 33 percent, Lib-Dims on 30 and Labour on 28, to the Political Betting poll which has the Tories and Lib-Dims equal first, each on 32 per cent, with Labour on a catastrophic 24. 

Says Political Betting, "Who knows how this would work out in a general election but it's becoming harder to forecast a Tory overall majority." With 672 comments on their post, the range of opinion is just as wide, all confirming that this election is wide open.

That much must have occurred to The Boy, who apparently junked a pre-prepared election broadcast to make a direct, personal appeal to the electorate. Pushing his "big idea" of the notorious "big society", the indications are that he no more succeeded in this appeal than he has with previous efforts.

With only just over two weeks to go, it would be a very brave punter who put their money on any outcome, although some diehards are still sticking with the idea of an overall Tory majority. It could be that the voters are playing games with the pollsters, and sentiment will settle as we get closer to the day, but for the moment, ABC looks to be the winner.

GENERAL ELECTION THREAD