YouGov were commissioned to do a poll by a person allegedly unknown even to their own Anthony Wells. The commissioner is variously rumoured to be Camp Ming, Camp Huhne and Paul Marshall. Paul Marshall is a City hedge fund trader, co-editor of the hallowed Orange Book and on the board of the Centre Forum think-tank with Clegg and Huhne, but said to be sympathetic to Ming. Guido rules out the various camps (expenditure caps) and reckons it was almost certainly a backer of one of the candidates.

The whisper figures Guido has seen put Ming ahead, trailed closely by Huhne with Hughes far behind. The poll was completed 11am yesterday. Why has it not been published? Could it have bad news for those that commissioned it? If Huhne calls on Hughes supporters to back him against Ming “it’s a two horse race” could it happen? Is it only Tory front-runners who lose?