WHEN ED BALLS COSIES UP TO YOU ITS TIME TO RUN

I read in the papers this morning that Labour 'Trotsky to Gordon Brown's Lenin', Ed Balls, has said that the Lib Dems and Labour could work together to keep the Tories out of power.

I am finding the increased speculation from the two old parties on their futures amusing as they are clearly rattled, with Labour moving rapidly into meltdown and the Conservatives consolidating rather than moving forward but the notion that the tribal Ed Balls could be relied upon to keep to the terms of any agreement is quite laughable.

It is a fool's game to make predictions about elections, particularly now this one has been blown so widely open by Nick Clegg's achievement of putting the Lib Dems at the forefront of the debate, allowing voters to find out about us. However I would speculate on one thing regarding both the old parties: their leaders will not last very long after the election.

If Cameron does not manage to win the election outright he is in serious trouble as the Conservatives do not like failure. Should the Tories claw their way to the most seats but not a majority, they are likely to oust Cameron - which would be unfair given that he has made them contenders again - and get a new leader to find some excuse to call an election as soon as possible. Voters won't like that.

As for Labour, unless something truly incredible happens over the coming ten days, Brown is finished. The images of him with an Elvis impersonator were excruciating and gave the impression of an ageing singer belting out standards in drinking clubs across the country. The sound you heard on your TV was Lord Mandelson weeping on the sidelines.

The only question is who replaces him. I have long had an imaginary wager on Harriet Harman, who has demonstrated her ability to cling on to the greasy pole when others are falling off around her, with no demonstrable talent to justify her position there. Having achieved the role of deputy leader she might be in a position to challenge both the Brownites, who will have very little power left, and the Miliband supporters who simply might not have enough support to gain power. Into the void between the two camps might step Harman purely becaue she is neither of the others.

One thing I can be sure of is that Nick Clegg is as secure as our leader as he could possibly be and he's got a united team around him. Now which party do you think would be best placed to weather the budget storm we are still being buffeted by? Would you prefer experience with endless squabbling and a disintegrating party behind him or a new face with a Chancellor, Vince Cable, with a proven ability to identify problems and outline solutions.