Liberal Democrat workers needed in Corby

I spent today helping at the Corby by-election. Jill Hope's campaign office is on an industrial estate in the south of the town - you can find a map of how to reach it in an earlier post here.

But the town of Corby accounts for only about half the constituency's electorate and I was sent off to Thrapston where I delivered a labyrinthine new estate.

Talking to the insiders, the consensus was that the Conservative vote is unusually soft - an impression confirmed by political journalists who have visited the constituency. It's not just that they have been demoralised by the resignation of Louise Mensch, it is that they have doubts about the direction of their party.

And what is interesting is that these Tory voters are not thinking of voting for UKIP. The people the Conservatives are struggling to hold on to are moderate, decent voters - the sort of people who may have voted for Tony Blair but were attracted by David Cameron last time.

Labour voters are not reported as being that enthused either, all of which points to a low turnout.

And a local issue has emerged that is also working against Labour: the Cube complex, which houses council offices, a library, theatre and register office. This was millions of pounds over budget and built to a wholly unsuitable design.

It was good to meet Jill Hope again. She is a hard-working candidate, as I know from her two general elections campaigns in Harborough, so please do go to Corby to help her.

This is the first by-election in a marginal seat in this parliament, and the Liberal Democrats could do with a reasonable result.