Piara Khabra dies

[merseysider]

Obviously the LibDems will be targeting this - it has the kind of multi cultural demographic of other places where they have done well in byelections, such as Leicester South and Brent East. I believe however that the majority of the Asian population is Hindu or Sikh rather than Muslim, so droning on endlessly about the War in Iraq and plastering their leaflets with photos of George W Bush may not work as well as in some other places.

The LibDems will inevitably squeeze the Tory vote - then Tories came third but with 10,000 votes.

This is a constituency which can produce some strange results - in 2001 almost 24% of the vote went to a range of independent and minor party candidates. Much of this seemed to go to the LibDems in 2005 who increased their share of the vote from 10% to 24%.

[merseysider]

Haven't you guys heard of a decent interval?

If you think that this thread is bad, read this! I remember hearing a story about Ernie Ross, the former MP for Dundee West. In 1981 he was very ill and went into hospital. The Liberals and the SDP started putting leaflets out in his constituency and making high profile visits from the likes of David Owen.

Mr Ross ended up making a full recovery and held the seat for another 24 years before retiring at the 2005 general election!