Guido has reported before about Gordon’s pooled microphone difficulties. In order to attempt to control questioning, the Prime Mentalist only has one feed and today it seems he forgot it was turned on as he walked away from an event in Rochdale discussing what a “disaster” it was, and accused a Labour voting pensioner of being “bigoted woman“. Will she still be voting Labour now?

UPDATE I : Labour hacks are removing rosettes before “meeting” Gordon in faked up walkabouts. The first time Gordon meets a real voter it all goes horribly wrong. And he knows it, after telling Mrs Duffy that it was “very nice to see you“, Gordon told aides in the car and said: “You should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? Sue’s I think. Everything she said – she’s just a bigoted woman.” Old loyal Sue Nye better duck.

UPDATE II :

Dan Hannan blogs…

“Knocking on a door in Basingstoke, I was greeted with a delighted cry of ‘Come in: I’m a Jehovah’s Witness.’ “

There was only one story that the Fawkes household cared about yesterday. Peppa Pig’s boycott of Yvette Cooper’s photo-op.  Can you blame Peppa? Yvette was in that auto-pilot soundbite mode thing she does, droning on that “the Conservative and Liberal Democrats would form a ‘Coalition of Cuts for Children’ that would put children in the frontline for spending cuts”. Yesterday the top-line from Labour was “only we can save your children”, it was so over the top it was unbelievable.

All obscured anyway by Peppa’s boycott of Yvette’s photo-op at a nursery. Labour’s press conference yesterday morning will be used in the future by media studies classes as a textbook case study on how not to handle the media.  Mandelson and Ed Ball’s exchanges with Adam Boulton, Andrew Neil and Nick Robinson were pretty bad tempered. The hacks were all trying to identify where Labour’s expected £30 billion of cuts were coming from, the issue which dominates front pages this morning following on from the IFS report accusing all parties of electoral dishonesty.

The backfiring Peppa photo-op is a metaphor for the Labour campaign, they can’t get traction on their new “Coalition for Cuts” dividing line because they themselves won’t credibly specify their own closet cuts agenda.  Peppa the Pig stood in for government spokesman on the Daily Politics and featured on Newsnight more than Yvette’s message. Peppa might be a fictional children’s character, but she is more credible than Yvette.

The spin has been that today’s Cameron heckler, Jonathan Bartley, was just an “ordinary dad“. Not quite. He is in fact the left-wing Christian pacifist activist who edits the Ekklesia blog and is a Guardian contributor. Hardly your average random passer-by.

Some of his outbursts show why he might not like Dave so much. He calls Jesus a socialist, which will come as a bit of a surprise to Tim Montgomerie, he rants daily against the Tories on his Twitter page, raging against orthodox religion and the monarchy.  With his track record of ranting online Guido is surprised Labour haven’t made him a candidate yet.

Peter Mandelson said to Adam Boulton…

‘You’re not running for election’.

Adam Boulton said to Peter Mandelson…

‘Neither are you’.

Another day and another candidate has been scalped by comments they have left online. All of the major parties have now had to sack a PPC, with today being the turn of Scottish Tory Philip Lardner who said homosexuality is “not normal“. Lardner, fighting  for North Ayrshire and Arran, would likely have gone regardless of which medium he used to espouse his views.

Unlike Labour’s MacLennan and Cowan scalps, there was no attempt to fight the inevitable and with Cowan, a cover up instigated by the party machine. Guido will be returning to this subject soon…

Peppa Pig isn’t endorsing Labour because she is in Tory hands. This picture was taken minutes ago behind the scenes in the Guy News newsroom.  Peppa is being held by Tory Bear, who is known to his mother as Harry Cole. Happy Birthday Harry!

He is 24 today and single again girls.  He has never kissed a socialist – yet…

Interesting Party Election Broadcasts last night, the Tories were fear-mongering that coalition government would be all about backroom deals and horse-trading. This is of course what is conventionally known as ‘politics’.  In the Tory broadcast a Clegg-like actor walked around Westminster offering dithering.  Apparently if you vote Conservative you will get a decisive liberal-conservative government firmly rooted on the centre-ground of politics.  If you vote Liberal on the other hand you could end up with a dithering liberal-centrist coalition government.

In the real LibDem PEB we had Clegg walking around Westminster offering change from the old politics, his first promise was an offer of “tax freedom”, a tax cut worth £700 to every taxpayer. Now 10 points higher than where they were when they started the campaign, the LibDems think their most attractive manifesto offer is a tax cut.

Tax cuts, the Cameroons told us, were the old politics that didn’t work with voters.  All the Tories needed to do was to offer Obama-style “change” from Gordon Brown. In the words of Sarah Palin: How’s that hopey change thing working out for y’all?

Labour last night issued a press release last night promising:

Peppa Pig Accepts Labour Invitation to Join Visit to Children’s Centre
The Labour Party has organised a visit to a children’s centre in South London to highlight our policies to support families. Yvette Cooper and Tessa Jowell will be shown around the centre and we are delighted that Peppa Pig, the star of children’s television, has accepted our invitation to join the visit.

For those of you without children under 5, Peppa Pig is a mega-star phenomenon, bigger than even Elvis nowadays.  Guido understands that Peppa Pig has pulled out of the event for fear it would be seen as an endorsement of the Labour Party…

UPDATE : Scenes of devastating disappointment at the Coin Street Nursery as tearful toddlers and young mothers learn a bitter lesson: Labour breaks its promises. Tearful toddlers asking “Where’s Peppa Pig? You promised!” Angry mothers and wailing children can only blame the wicked witches; Yvette and Tessa. Yvette has just issued one of her barmy soundbites “the Conservative and Liberal Democrats would form a ‘Coalition of Cuts for Children’ that would put children in the frontline for spending cuts”.  Not claiming they would actually eat your babies – which was probably what Ed Balls wanted to claim.