Heseltine: I can smell victory in the air for our party

12:20pm Wednesday 5th May 2010 in Local Election News

CHAT: From left, Kelvin Smith talks to Lord Heseltine and Tory candidate Robin Walker as the Conservatives canvass in Blackpole and Warndon. CHAT: From left, Kelvin Smith talks to Lord Heseltine and Tory candidate Robin Walker as the Conservatives canvass in Blackpole and Warndon.

A FORMER deputy Prime Minister for the Conservatives has admitted both his party and Labour probably regret taking part in the live televised leaders’ debates.

But Lord Heseltine, who was second in command to John Major between 1995 and 1997, said during a visit to Worcester that he could “smell victory in the air” for his party.

Speaking to your Worcester News in the car park of Blackpole Inn, Blackpole Road, before joining Robin Walker and his team canvassing and door knocking around Blackpole and Warndon, Lord Heseltine said he did not have “any doubt at all” that Mr Walker would win the city seat and believes David Cameron will be installed as Prime Minister once all of the general election results are in.

Earlier in the year Lord Heseltine predicted a hung parliament and said his party still had an uphill struggle on their hands to win an outright majority.

He admitted the leaders’ debates had not helped their cause but he thought support for the Liberal Democrat party was beginning to wane.

“I think the Nick Clegg phenomenon is a very short-term phenomenon and we’re already seeing that.” He said he hoped hoped his party will not do any deals with the Liberal Democrats should such a situation arise.

Comments(5)

Malvern says...
1:06pm Wed 5 May 10

When politicians try to reassure us that they are going to support manufacturing in the UK, particularly Hi-Tech manufacturing they fail to mention the fact that China and India are producing more graduates than Europe and the USA combined. Recently BAE systems lost a 2 billion pound MOD tank building contract to a US company, the high speed trains we are to get are going to be built in Japan. We have to rely on the French or the Japanese to build our new nuclear power stations. Corus steel plant moth-balled, Britains only wind-turbine manufacturing plant on the Isle of Wight closed. For the past 20 years manufacturing has taken a back seat to Financial services, now they want to suddenly be a world leader in Hi Tech. Are we to believe that we have some sort of superiority over India and China, we have lost that advantage through complacency. I work in Hi Tech manufacturing and hope they can prove me wrong. Trouble is my work is gradually being outsourced to China so my hopes for the future are not good.

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helen donovan says...
1:32pm Wed 5 May 10

To anyone who watched the BBC Politics Show on Sunday morning at the Guildhall.
Worcestershire school funding has NOT doubled as claimed by Labour candidate Mike Foster.
We come 10th from bottom out of 150 authorities, and have had an increase of around 33% of one of the veryt smallest original amounts since 1997 (everyone else has had much more).

To say funding has doubled is completely UNTRUE

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TimmyM says...
2:17pm Wed 5 May 10

As far as I am aware capitation allowance in Worcestershire schools is one of the lowest in the country which means that other counties are either receiving far too much or we are receiving far too little.
I don't think we should put ourselves down where manufacturing is concerned because there are a lot of smaller companies in this country who are making a go of it. We always tend to look at the bigger companies like car manufacturers but we forget the likes of Honda near Swindon. Yes, the Chinese are doing well, and they sell cheap. They also have to sustain a much bigger population. We have always been innovative in this country so we should be encouraging this as well as encouraging our kids to learn skills at school.

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justinforfun says...
3:26pm Wed 5 May 10

The Tories say they are confident, but do the people of Worcester deserve a part-time MP. I understand Robin Walker intends working in his present job as well as being an MP. I thought Cameron was cleaning up parliament and stopping MPs from working. There you go - no change there then!

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MJI says...
4:56pm Wed 5 May 10

justinforfun wrote:
The Tories say they are confident, but do the people of Worcester deserve a part-time MP. I understand Robin Walker intends working in his present job as well as being an MP. I thought Cameron was cleaning up parliament and stopping MPs from working. There you go - no change there then!
Hello Michael

He said 10 hours a month - I am sure that there are quite a few people with a part time job as well as their main job.

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