Gordon Brown might see it as a blow to his party’s relationship with the City or a bonus for its relationship with the rest of the electorate. Prominent City rag City AM has conducted a poll in which seventy-three per cent of repondents said the Tories were the best party to get the economy back on track.

Just ten per cent of respondents wanted the Labour party to emerge victorious at the election.

Which doesn’t reflect the daily polls in the rest of the country. Tory popularity has been sliding markedly in the last few months. The latest Times poll puts Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck in the marginals.