19th April, 2010, 8:15 am Labour and Tories seek to deal with Lib Dem surge – 8 in the morning, April 19th Alex Smith Share this article: By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * The government has launched an unprecedented plan to help bring hom an estimated 200,000 people stranded by the ash cloud, including possible deployment of the navy. * Bookies have made a hung parliament the favourite election outcome, as Labour and the Tories consider how to deal with the Lib Dem surge. * The Tories are claiming Nick Clegg would “sell Britain out to Brussels, scrap the pound” and are “painting the Lib Dem leader as soft on crime and defence”, reports the Mirror. * Gordon Brown will refocus Labour’s campaign this week on the economy. * The Lib Dem bounce puts us in unchartered waters and is the “biggest shock to the electoral landscape for years”, writes John Curtice. * The impact of the debates will help to offset some of the financial imbalance between Labour and the Tories, says Donald Macintyre. * “Who is to blame for David Cameron’s TV nightmare?”, asks the Mail. * Guardian Media looks at the parties’ policies on broadcasting and print advertising and libel. Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith Subscribe to our daily email More from LabourList Analysis The importance of keeping it local In the final days before this set of important local elections, it can feel as though the gravitational… James Tibbitts 5th May, 2026, 10:09 am Comment ‘Reform or Recovery? The High-Stakes NHS Test for Wes Streeting’ In the weeks following the local elections, political attention may well turn to senior Labour figures such as… Charlie Paterson 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am Comment ‘Labour’s Crime and Policing Act is a step forward for shop worker safety’ For far too many years, shop staff across Britain have gone to work knowing they may face abuse,… Callum Anderson MP 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith
Analysis The importance of keeping it local In the final days before this set of important local elections, it can feel as though the gravitational… James Tibbitts 5th May, 2026, 10:09 am
Comment ‘Reform or Recovery? The High-Stakes NHS Test for Wes Streeting’ In the weeks following the local elections, political attention may well turn to senior Labour figures such as… Charlie Paterson 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Comment ‘Labour’s Crime and Policing Act is a step forward for shop worker safety’ For far too many years, shop staff across Britain have gone to work knowing they may face abuse,… Callum Anderson MP 5th May, 2026, 6:00 am
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