BBC News 24 has just given a fifteen minute or less warning for the declaration of the South Staffordshire election. For those who have missed this one, the original General Election poll was postponed by law following the death of the Liberal Democrat candidate after nominations closed.
One has to wonder what would have happened if this had occurred in Tony Blair's constituency. As this is legally a General Election poll and not a by-election the campaign spending limit is much lower, but the poll would have attracted numerous anti-Blair candidates. And in the interim, whilst there's nothing in the constitution that states the Prime Minister has to be an MP, it's difficult to see him exerting much authority whilst his own result was unclear.
Back to South Staffordshire and the turnout is reported as 37.7% - the lowest of anywhere in the General Election. It's pretty poor, but other than choosing the parliamentary representative for the area it's heard to define just what the election is for.
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