Tory strategists could be forgiven for worrying that after three years of little or no growth and a £120 billion spending black hole this year alone, Dave and George’s reliance on blaming Britain’s economic slump on the last Labour government might be wearing thin with voters. Apparently not.

A study by media agency OMD of over 2,000 adults from across the UK has found that 53% still blame the previous Labour government for Britain’s ongoing economic problems, compared with just 39% blaming the coalition. 39% say Gordon is the main culprit, with just 27% fingering Cameron and 23% Osborne. Numbers Downing Street will be clinging onto…

Some strong words from Margaret Hodge and the Public Accounts Committee as they release their report on tax avoidance today. Apparently the Big 4 accountancy firms have an “unhealthily cosy relationship with government”, saying it creates a “ridiculous conflict of interest”. Readers will know of Hodge’s great expertise in this area, given that she worked for one of them, Pricewaterhouse, before she became an MP. Not to mention that Hodge’s friends on the frontbench such as Chuka, Balls and Rachel Reeves have all had PwC analysts on their payroll. Guido can reveal that Labour’s Shadow Treasury ministers Chris Leslie and Cathy Jamieson also currently have PwC employees working in their offices. For some reason Hodge hasn’t said anything about this, you might say, cosy relationship, but then she has form for keeping quiet about awkward questions…

UPDATE: Hodge comes in at number 15 on the Times’ Politicians Rich List (£) this morning with a mere £18 million fortune largely tied up in the family Stemcor steel trading business. She told  Michael Crick “I am a tiny, tiny, tiny shareholder”, an 8-figure shareholding is hardly what Guido would call ”tiny”. Her shareholding is via family trusts which have the advantage that they won’t be subject to inheritance tax. Cunning.

Apparently not aware April Fools Day has long gone, Labour have suggested that everyone who votes in general elections should be entered into a prize lottery in an attempt to boost turnout. Not a Daily Mash exclusive, Angela Eagle has all the best ideas. A policy at last…

For some reason Ipsos Mori haven’t taken kindly to a ‘Labour source’ telling LabourList’s Mark Ferguson that they “consistently brief highly selective data to create misleading impressions”. In a withering riposte on their website, they insist things really are that bad for Ed:

“Mr Ferguson’s complaint appears to be about Joe Murphy’s coverage of our questions about Ed Miliband in the Evening Standard. He states that “To read the report you’d think that the results were abnormally bad for Ed Miliband (as it happens, Cameron was far further behind Brown at this stage than Miliband is behind Cameron)”, and Joe Murphy himself reported that “A Labour source said David Cameron was further behind Gordon Brown at the same stage in the last Parliament.” But the results are, all, abnormally bad for Ed Miliband, and Cameron was not further behind Brown at the same stage in the last parliament… We therefore request that Mr Ferguson:

• provides evidence for or corrects his assertion that Cameron was further behind Brown than Miliband is behind Cameron at this stage of the parliament;
• makes it clear in his piece that the changes in satisfaction for both Cameron and Miliband since last month are not statistically significant.”

Fight…

A masterclass in carefully worded digs from Labour leaders old and new this morning. Blair hits the nail on the head about Ed being on the wrong side of every argument:

“Parts of the political landscape that had been cast in shadow for some years, at least under New Labour and the first years of coalition government, are illuminated in sharp relief. The Conservative Party is back clothing itself in the mantle of fiscal responsibility, buttressed by moves against ‘benefit scroungers’, immigrants squeezing out British workers and – of course – Labour profligacy. The Labour Party is back as the party opposing ‘Tory cuts’, highlighting the cruel consequences of the Conservative policies on welfare and representing the disadvantaged and vulnerable.”

Team Miliband’s rebuttal is hardly subtle:

“As he was the first to recognise, politics always has to move on to cope with new challenges and different circumstances. For example, on immigration, Labour is learning lessons about the mistakes in office and crafting an immigration policy that will make Britain’s diversity work for all not just a few. It is by challenging old ways of doing things, showing we have understood what we did right and wrong during our time in office that One Nation Labour will win back people’s trust.”

In other words, not listening…

On Radio 4 last night, Labour lobby fodder Jamie Reed revealed the solution to reforming the entire welfare state and recalibrating handouts depending on what people have paid into the system in the past. This huge, costed and clearly well thought out overhaul announced by Labour at the weekend will be paid for by, you guessed it, a tax on bankers’ bonuses:

Now correct Guido if he is wrong, but haven’t Labour already promised to spend money raised from a tax on bankers’ bonuses? He recalls promises to use it to reverse the VAT rise, increase capital spending, reverse Child Benefit cuts, reverse cuts to other Tax Credits, boost the Regional Growth Fund, turn empty shops into community centres and build more houses. After this thirty billion splurge, and the fact bankers’ bonuses have been severely squeezed, how much money does Jamie think will be left over?

The news that McBride’s book will upset Labour conference has caused a flutter today. Many of his old allies have popped up to help the re-branding exercise. No doubt they will be salivating at the prospect of the serialisation rights, hence why no one has noted that the deal will earn Mad Dog far more than the royalties he has pledged to give away. Looking back at his recent blogposts shows the level of detail we can expect about the Brown years; one thing stuck out about his latest musing though:

“As our internal polls used to tell us, there were a number of Tory leaders who could potentially have beaten Tony Blair in 2005, and Hague was arguably one of them.”

You have to wonder what a Civil Servant at the Treasury was doing having access to “internal polls” in 2005. What internal polls? Surely the Treasury were not polling this sort of information? A Labour source familiar with that particular period does not recall any Labour Party poll commissioned on the subject. Was this done by that famous impartial charity the Smith Institute? If not, who paid for it and was money declared? What else will Damian let out of the bag about doing Gordon’s leadership dirty work on the taxpayer? 

The maths does not look great for anyone except Labour in the rotten borough of South Shields, but then that’s what was said about Rotherham where UKIP managed to come second last year. A spokesman for the party was boisterous about their chances in the seat.

“UKIP expect the momentum that has been gathering over the past year to become apparent in South Shields, where we will be selecting a candidate who will work hard to highlight how the ordinary people of South Shields have been let down by the old three parties and Labour in particular. Those who want to send a message to both front beches know the best way to do it, and that is to vote UKIP.”

Sources in the party are hopeful of a second place: “it is well within our grasp”. And the bookies agree…

UPDATE: Keep an eye on John Tennant’s  website. He works for UKIP MEP Derek Clark and fancies his chances as the candidate:

A great opportunity for #UKIP to bring its message to the North East, #SouthShields #UKIP #DMiliband—
John Tennant (@johnukip) March 27, 2013

There is one obvious candidate already being punted to replace David Miliband in South Shields:

Assuming Tony Blair can't be persuaded to stand, it has to be @Kevin_Maguire for South Shields #KM4PM—
James Chapman (Mail) (@jameschappers) March 27, 2013

A strong local born candidate, loyal to the party and an excellent media performer. It’s time for Kevin Maguire to make his love of Labour official and throw his hat in the ring. It would mean taking a pretty hefty pay cut mind though…

UPDATE: 

Boost for #KM4SS campaign. Constituency bigwig tells Sky candidate must have local links and not be 'parachuted in' like DMil @Kevin_Maguire—
James Chapman (Mail) (@jameschappers) March 27, 2013

UPDATE II: Adam Boulton has tipped our Kev live on Sky News: “He may be a metropolitan trendy these days, but he is a local boy born and bred.” Big Kev has the big mo.

So Eddie Izzard has finally gone on the record with what he has been telling people for yonks: that he wants to be the Labour Mayor of London. Guido reported this nearly a year ago. The transvestite comedian hardly has a good track record when it comes to campaign though. Recently his friends expressed an interest in Hampstead, before he was promptly stopped in his tracks by an All Woman Shortlist. Not even his skirt could get round that.

Izzard played a key role in helping the yes team lose the AV referendum, having previously campaigned for Britain to join the Euro, and was just about the only celebrity to enthusiastically back Gordon Brown in 2010. He also stumped with Ken last year, putting the final nail in the coffin of that campaign. His Mayoral rivals like Seb Coe, David Lammy and Sadiq Khan should not be too worried.