There is no coming back from numbers like this whatever pundits say. Gordon is going to take the Labour Party down with him. The reality is that his personal negative rating is a deadweight on the party’s electoral prospects.

Ipsos MORI March Political Monitor – Conservative lead Labour by 10 points despite economic optimism rising

• Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s personal ratings have increased since last month: one in three (34%) are satisfied with the way he is doing his job as Prime Minister, and three in five (59%) are dissatisfied, giving a net score (the percentage satisfied minus the percentage dissatisfied) of -25.
• Public opinion on how David Cameron is doing his job as leader of the Conservative Party has shown a marked increase since February 2009: 52% are satisfied (up nine points from last month) and 30% dissatisfied (down four points), yielding a net figure of +22. This is a thirteen point ‘net’ increase (from last month’s net figure of +9) and matches the highest satisfaction rating we have ever recorded for David Cameron (in August 2008).

Labour strategists and activists know they are “going down with Brown”…

UPDATE : Labour contested the City Wards elections for the first time in history, breaking with the City’s tradition of independents. They lost every single seat.