UKIP odds shorten in Eastleigh, Lib Dems defecting

Things are looking positive for UKIP in Eastleigh.  The opinion polls are generally swinging between a Lib Dem hold and a Tory gain but UKIP's support is steadily increasing.

According to Ladbrokes in Eastleigh, bets on a Tory win have dropped right off and only one person bet on a Tory win last week.  In the meantime, they say, bets on a UKIP win have increased by 300%.  UKIP is now at 16/1 to win and have overtaken Labour as far as the bookies are concerned.

A poll of Winchester students is less positive and even less commonsensical. The students of Winchester University put Labour a fair way in front, followed by the Tories and then the Lib Dems. They must have short memories because it was Labour who introduced the racist tuition fees regime that only targets English students in the first place, the Tories who increased them from £3k to £9k a year and the Lib Dems who promised to abolish them and then supported the Tory increase. The LibLabCon parties are responsible for landing English students with tens of thousands of pounds of debt but they still vote for them like a woman going back to an abusive partner time and time again because he promises he'll change.  It worries me to think that such irrational thinkers are the leaders of tomorrow.

The Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems are running a negative campaign trying to make their candidate out to be the least hypocritical of the three rather than tell voters what it is they intend to do for them.  Here is UKIP candidate, Diane James, on some key issues:

• Diane James on Healthcare
• Diane James on Housing
• Diane James on Immigration
• Diane James on the closure of Eastleigh's Ford factory

UKIP's positive message for Eastleigh was enough to convince former Lib Dem mayor, Glynn Davies-Dear, to defect to defect to UKIP.  After years of campaigning for the Lib Dems and serving as a Lib Dem borough and county councillor for 20 years he has finally had enough of Lib Dems dishonesty, describing Chris Huhne as an "inveterate liar".  Another former Lib Dem councillor, Andy Moore, joined Mr Davies-Dear in switching to UKIP at the same time.  Mr Moore said that he couldn't support the Lib Dem candidate who has both promised to protect green spaces in Eastleigh and to build on them at the same time.