Kinnock windbags Labour's hopes

Lord Kinnock, stoker first class on the EU Gravy Train, has come out to say that it "doesn't look like" his party can win the general election, but insists it remains "within reach". I hope the Labour Party's reach has been severely forshortened.

Kinnock waffles on to say that the prime minister has been "poisonously misrepresented by the press". If he's talking about the encounter with Gillian Duffy I think there's been zilch misrepresentation. Not a word out of place. Brown said it all himself. If it's over the past 13 years, there might have been the odd phrase or two, but that's it.

No, Labour has itself to blame for the muddle and mess. Mrs.Duffy asked him a straight question on the economy. Gordon Brown just raised his caninus muscle and gave a few platitudes and spotted that her use of red in her clothing was a good sign. Then he got into the car and revealed himself as he really is.

I think it was summed up quite nicely by Brown's biographer, Tom Bower, when he said yesterday on BBC News that "Gordon Brown has never understood the working class of England". So face to face with a representative of the species and he's spun off his axis bigtime.

Who knows what will happen tonight. My hunch is that Cameron and Clegg will be relaxed, Brown will be like a cork in a champagne bottle. His body language will show him up if he lets it loose. He'd be better off grabbing the podium for dear life and keeping deadly still.

This election is now like a steeplechase with unknown nags in the race. I can see all three parties winning seats and losing them. There will be some very startled new MPs by the end of next week. And a great many startled voters.