Labour scale down 'class war' attacks

Labour is to scale down its "class war" attacks on the Tories before Thursday's crucial Crewe by-election - after polls showed the tactic is backfiring.

The party's high command has been split by a high-risk strategy to mock the Conservative candidate as a "toff who lives in a mansion".

Cabinet ministers tried desperately to rein in the negative campaigning yesterday as a poll suggested Labour's 7,078 majority would be overturned on Thursday.

The ICM survey in the once-safe Labour seat of Crewe and Nantwich indicated that the Tories had doubled their lead to eight points in a week.

Mr Cameron's party had 45 per cent to Labour's 37 per cent, enough to give the Tories their first by-election gain in 26 years.

Since the campaign began, activists dressed in top hats and tails have been shadowing Tory candidate Edward Timpson - son of the founder of the shoe chain.

A picture of his Cheshire home is reproduced on Labour leaflets with the slogan "Tory Boy Timpson's mansion house", while other campaign literature asks: "Do you think that regeneration is adding a new wing to your mansion?"

Labour's candidate Tamsin Dunwoody - daughter of ex-MP Gwyneth, whose death led to the by-election - has even referred to her rival as "some rich Tory kid".

Gordon Brown's chief strategist Stephen Carter and senior ministers have been dismayed by the tactic and are adamant it should be abandoned.

Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband yesterday tried to play it down, telling Sky News: "In by-elections you always have stunts, you always have people campaigning in adventurous ways. The central part is the issues that matter to people in that area, like anti-social behaviour and the 10p tax rate."

Deputy leader Harriet Harman admitted to the BBC that it was "not the most positive campaign", although she also insisted that the class issue was not the main theme.

Defeat in the by-election would be devastating for Mr Brown, who last week borrowed £2.7billion to fund a surprise tax cut as part of a compensation package for workers made worse off by his decision to scrap the 10p starting rate.

The ICM survey indicates that more than half of voters think the deal was an election bribe, while nearly two-thirds believe Labour should dump the Prime Minister before the next General Election.

There was more bad news for Mr Brown with a national YouGov poll for the Sunday Times putting the Tories on 45 per cent, 20 points clear of Labour, on 25 per cent, with the LibDems on 18 per cent.

If, as Labour fears, Thursday brings defeat, it appears unlikely to force the Prime Minister from office. He is expected to attempt a fightback over the summer.

But David Hill, Downing Street communications chief under Tony Blair, admitted: "This is a low point. The Government is in serious difficulties and no one is pretending otherwise."

He added: "The odds have got to be against Labour winning the by-election. What has happened in the campaign is that something supposed to be relatively light-hearted to kick off the campaign has taken off and campaigners have not been able to rein it back in as they should have."

The strategy to paint Mr Timpson as a privileged outsider was cooked up by Labour's by-election campaign team, headed by Government whip Steve McCabe, MP for Birmingham Hall Green.

A source said last night: "We are not winding it up but our last days' message is not about that. Our message is going to draw the distinction that Tamsin is one of you, talking about local issues, and Timpson is one of them."

Labour also accused the Conservatives of carrying out their own dirty tricks campaign, including posing as Labour backers to infiltrate Miss Dunwoody's campaign, rifling through her dustbins and tearing down Labour posters in the middle of the night.

From :Daily Mail