The nation will be rivetted to this By-Election on thursday. Ah yes indeed dear old Oldham is a mucho long way away from dear old Dover but nevertheless there is interest in this for all of us as we have our own local elections coming up in May, and this national parliamentary level By-Election will help gauge the mood of the nation.
Is Cameron doing a good job?..are all these swingeing cuts and unholy tax rises really necessary? Some opininon polls feel that Mr Cameron has indeed captured the mood of the nation, indicating that the population realises drastic measures are needed to get the economy back on track. Others feel of course that the tax rises are much too much, crippling as they do poorer familes. The VAT rise for example is seen as a regressive tax.
These variations and ponderables will be answered on Thursday in the only Opinion Poll that counts.
You might remember this By-Election was necessary because the previous MP and indeed Government Minister Phil Woolas was found guilty of dodgy deelings during the previous campaign. He actually won that time for Labour but by the hairs breath margin of just a couple of hundred votes...and was then challenged in the courts by the Libdem he beat by a whisker.
Result of all this...a new election and Phil Woolas is no longer with us.
Although the Libdems nearly grasped victory last time, the feeling us they will fall away this time in a big way. Scuppered as they are by a Leader who failed to deliver almost every promise he made in his own election campaign. So...the Libdems are discredited and on everyones list as the politicians you would most want to kick up the brisket.
The view is that the Labour Party will romp home...thumping their former rivals the Libdems in the process. The Conservatives are non runners in Oldham so are fighting a quieter campaign...not wanting to take votes from the Libdems, otherwise the Libdems would and could vanish off the Lancashire radar, a feat they are in danger of accomplishing almost everywhere else.
A Labour certainty this one.
The candidates below. Am particulary liking the Elvis one. I predict a strong run for Bus Pass Elvis Party!!
Debbie Abrahams (Labour)
Derek Adams (British National Party)
Kashif Ali (Conservative)
Peter Allen (Green Party)
David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party)
The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party)
Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom)
Stephen Morris (English Democrats)
Paul Nuttall MEP (UK Independence Party)
Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats)
It will also be interesting to see the UKIP vote.... it will gauge just how strong or otherwise they are. If ever there was a time for UKIP then this must be it.