Ed Miliband’s key political strategy adviser Greg Beales told the last National Executive Committee meeting that their private polling showed that the biggest doubts the public has about the Labour Party were over immigration, spending too much and being soft on benefit cheats. This chimes with George Osborne’s strategic dividing line on welfare reform, where Ed Miliband and Ed Balls appear to be happy to be on the opposing side of the argument to the public. The Tories are going to relentlessly exploit this strategic weakness.

On Wednesday at PMQs Miliband went on the attack on welfare and then LabourList revealed on Thursday that the Labour Party was planning an online campaign in 60 key marginal seats. CCHQ was alerted and Grant Shapps ordered a rapid pre-buttal campaign in the same 60 marginal seats. Within 24 hours local newspapers in places like Watford, Thurrock and Blackpool North were flooded with hundreds of thousands of online adverts. Labour candidates looking at the news on their local newspaper websites this morning will be horrified to see CCHQ spending money to support incumbent Tory MPs two years ahead of the general election. It is going to be a long campaign…