How key a factor is this in current poll ratings?

We are told that 27,000 Woolworths staff are set to be losing their jobs in the New Year, UK car production is down by a third, unemployment is rising steeply and there’s even talk of a bail-out for the Indian-owned Jaguar cars.

Meanwhile the pound continues to take a battering on the foreign exchange markets and businesses up and down the country struggle with their banks to get the support to keep going.

Yet for many this holiday period is marked by a feeling of prosperity. Even the cost of a litre of diesel is now below the £1 mark, mortgage rates are at their lowest in generations and in the shops almost everything has suddenly got cheaper.

The question is how long will this last? Won’t imports, including fuel start to go up in line with sterling’s decline? And will the New Year be marked by redundancy after redundancy?

So it’s into a period of great uncertainty and worry that we will go into 2009. How’s this going to shape out politically? Will we see a swing back to the Tories or will the October-November trend continue? This is all very difficult to call.

I for one remain a seller of Tory seats on the spread betting markets.

PB’s carton is by Marf of LondonSketchbook.com. Go to her site if you are looking for last minute Xmas presents. Quite a few of PBers have done that already and it’s great that we are able to support her in this way.

Mike Smithson