Andy McSmith's Election Diary: Ukip finds supporters in unlikely places...

John Major doesn't agree with Dave

David Cameron was in no doubt yesterday that all the good things to come out of government since 2010 are due to the stern qualities of Conservative cabinet ministers. They are the party of “competence, not chaos,” he said, during the Conservative manifesto launch.

He added: “When people said we should change course economically, George Osborne said no. When people opposed her plans, Theresa May said no and did not give in. And when he was urged to ditch his welfare reform plans, Iain Duncan Smith said no too.”

All of this was an implied dig at the Liberal Democrats, and in stark contrast to the privately expressed opinions of the only living former Conservative Prime Minister.

At a private dinner last week, Sir John Major told his fellow guests: “It would be graceless for the Conservatives not to acknowledge that by agreeing to go into coalition, Nick Clegg had ensured stable government, which was vital in the national interest.”

Someone close to the former Prime Minister said: “It is what he has believed since the coalition was formed. He’s not going to stop saying it just because there is an election.”

The last time the Conservatives won a general election outright was under John Major’s leadership, 23 years ago.

Quote of the day

“His name will still appear on the ballot paper. He could still potentially win.”

The Electoral Commission clarifies the constitutional position as regards the now dead Ronnie Carroll who was standing as a joke candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn. Via Buzzfeed.

To wear a wristband or not to wear a wristband, that is the question

Chamali Fernando, Conservative candidate in Cambridge, had to spend yesterday explaining that she does not believe that mentally ill people should be compelled to wear special wristbands. Fernando, who is a barrister, said that at times she had visited people in police cells who were mentally ill, and were not apparently able to give a clear account of what was wrong with them.In these cases, she said, early diagnosis is important.

According to the Cambridge News, she added: "Maybe it's something as simple as there are certain conditions which are more common, where people can wear a wristband to identify they have that condition, so that then we can perhaps, not diagnose, but spot it earlier and ensure that we deal with it.”

So, she did not say the mentally ill should be forced to wear wristbands – but she thinks it would be helpful if they did.

George Osborne confuses fiction with reality

George Osborne tells the Radio Times that he enjoyed watching Coalition, James Graham’s television drama on the aftermath of the 2010 election, although he is himself portrayed as a schemer who at one point says "We'll make all these cuts and then the Lib Dems will take the blame in five years!"

But did he actually say that? He replied: “Sadly, that was the playwright's dramatic licence. Sorry to disappoint!”

Ukip finds supporters in unlikely places...

Of all the places you might expect to find avid UKIP supporters, a Christian church in Pakistan, where Christians are a persecuted minority, seems about the least likely. But Pastor Francis Bashir, of the Royal Disciple Church in Lahore, believes that UKIP “stands up for Christian culture and values.” His congregation has made a banner featuring a picture of ‘Nigel Farag’ and two other UKIP candidates under the caption “God made you successful…Our prayers is with you to all members of UKIP”

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