FUNNYMAN Mark Shuker showed ITV his more 'liberal' side recently, which may yet help him attract the odd floating voter in Worcester.

The General Election hopeful took part in the TV channel's deadly serious pre-count snippets recently, saying he'd want to introduce an 'ending the war on drugs' bill if he got into parliament (just don't tell West Mercia Police) and tackle 'cookies' (something to do with the internet, for those confused voters).

I can see our man smoking hash while munching on a chocolate biscuit in the Commons in no time.

* THE polls are hardly shifting for any party at the moment, which is especially awkward for Ed Miliband as next week looms large.

In Tory-led rural Worcestershire, county council leader Adrian Hardman was knocking doors recently and came across one of Bredon's very few socialists, a chap who used to be Ed's old university professor.

Said fellow, normally a lost cause to canvassing Conservatives, told them he wouldn't be voting Labour this time around because of their leader.

Ouch.

* ONLY last week we told you about Nigel 'I'm backing local businesses' Huddleston and his Tory election leaflets being printed in Bath, but he's not alone.

Hertfordshire-based Lib Dem Dennis Wharton, trying to cause a rumpus in West Worcestershire, strangely opted for Humberside to run off his mass of leaflets.

Why can't these people find a single Worcestershire printer?

* UKIP's Worcester branch thought it'd stumbled on a good idea recently by using the relatively novel 'crowd funding' idea to try and raise £500 towards stationary, leaflets and advertising via internet donations.

Dubbed 'Project Aim', a measly £20 has been put into the coffers, turning it into 'project lame', with the public stumping up an average of 34p a day since it started.

Given the efforts the party made creating a website to promote this project, the whole malarkey is probably now in 'negative currency territory', as the Greeks would say - after all time = money.

Can anyone spare 'em a few quid?

* THIS time next week The Source, indeed the nation, will be facing up to a new political era.

Good luck to all our Worcestershire election candidates and their families, and here's to good old British democracy.