General Election Bet of the Day: Lib Dems to win Leyton and Wanstead

Election Bet of the Day / Paul Krishnamurty / 20 April 2010 / 1 Comments

"This is exactly the type of constituency where the Lib Dems were already thriving, long before this recent dramatic surge. As the Tories have vacated the inner-cities, and the bankrupt Labour Party is shorn of resources and popularity, the third party has stepped into the void."

Paul Krishnamurty tells us why the Lib Dems are great value at [3.5] on Betfair to take Leyton and Wanstead in what should be a straight shoot-out between Clegg's clan and Labour.

With all three polls this morning showing the Lib Dems in second place, ahead or tied with Labour, the seats to focus on are where the former is the challenger. On paper, Leyton and Wanstead looks a potentially three-way marginal, but in reality the contest is between Labour and the Lib Dems. Having lived in or nearby to this constituency for many years and remained in contact with several residents, I can confidently predict there will never be a Tory MP here.

This is exactly the type of constituency where the Lib Dems were already thriving, long before this recent dramatic surge. As the Tories have vacated the inner-cities, and the bankrupt Labour Party is shorn of resources and popularity, the third party has stepped into the void. I can report that the Lib Dems are continuously active in this part of London, which along with their opposition to the Iraq war, enabled them to overtake the Tories last time. Things have gone from bad to worse for Labour here ever since, with outgoing MP Harry Cohen investigated by police over his expenses claims.

These alone were strong reasons to fancy an upset even before last Thursday's debate turned this election on its head. Now, Leyton and Wanstead is transformed from being a plausible upset to an obvious gain. Take anything above [3.5].

Comments (1)

1. anon | 22 April 2010

   In Leyton, Drapers Field is to be used as an executive car park during the Olympics. After the Olympics the local council want to turn it into a community park with flats built around two sides. This would be an Olympic legacy reducing sporting facilities in the borough, we would be losing a proper recreation ground and full size astro turf.Drapers Field is part of the Northern Olympic Fringe.

   The Liberal Democrates say privately that they are not in favour of building flats, but why won't they come out and say so publicaly before the election?

   The council are to get £4 million for this deal.