LibDems go glossy

I get the feeling that someone thinks Nottingham East might have moved from a "safe" Labour seat to being marginal.

Today's letterbox saw a glossy leaflet from Sam Boote, the Lib Dem candidate with a picture of Nick Clegg on the front that is as big as the photo of the candidate. The main messages are "change" and "being fair" whether that be:

• fairer taxes
• fair chances for every child
• a fair future (green jobs) or
• a fair deal from politicians.

These 4 main points inside the leaflet look like standard national text but the 5th point is very local. He is "standing up for fairness" with a call to save Victoria Baths by retaining and refurbishing the existing baths rather than "waste millions on knocking it down and building new baths". Looks to me like a bid for the local protest vote and a chance to embarrass the Labour controlled City Council. Not sure how a Rushcliffe Borough Councillor from Keyworth will be able to affect a decision that has already be made by the Executive Board of the City Council.

While typing this we had another newsletter through the door, this one is LibDem Focus (Berridge Ward Edition) and looks like another election leaflet. The back of the leaflet there are two photos - one of a mansion and the other of a street terraced houses - and a "Dave Spart" style message about the Tory tax cuts for millionaires and quotations from the candidate claiming that "David Cameron's shadow cabinet would personally earn millions out of the tax cuts they propose...No wonder more and more people are switching to back the Lib Dems in Sam Boote as the real alternative to Labour".

Looks like the LibDems are really trying to win. Let's see how the other parties respond this week.