Is it the polling that binds them together?

This afternoon’s political story is the joint event in Essex by Dave and Nick plan to “re-launch” the coalition. The event comes just three days before the second anniversary of the creation of the pact.

The fact that both feel the need to “re-launch” is a sign surely that things are not going well. This unlikely marriage is going through a stormy patch.

Both parties got totally smashed in Thursday local elections and both are down in the polls. The yellows have been in the doldrums for so long that it is hardly a story. The decline for Tories is more recent which is perhaps why there appears to be more panic.

The major problem is that the government is starting to look incompetent and the voters are sensing this. The grass roots of both parties may blame the other but it’s the overall situation that’s the problem.

The blues have been shaken by UKIP’s progress though it is important to stress that the anti-EU party failed to increase its overall number of councilors. The pressure, though, is for the Tories to move to the right.

Cameron’s in coalition simply because the Tories failed to win a decisive victory two years ago. Clegg’s there because he thought it the right thing to do to deal with the crisis at the time.

There are two certainties in all of this. In spite of the calls from some Tory MPs the coalition will continue simply because both parties could be hurt badly if there was an early general election

Secondly there will more such “re-launch” events before May 2015.

@MikeSmithsonOGH