"Labour still has slim chance of winning next election"

The Guardian headline an article

"Labour still has slim chance of winning next election, poll suggests

Wavering Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters may switch if economy is recovering by May 2010"

The Guardian tries to cheer itself and its readers with the analysis that:

"Two-thirds of the electorate, 65%, say clear signs of a recovery in the economy by the expected date of the next election, May 2010, would "make no difference" to their voting choice. But 9% of Tory voters and 22% of Liberal Democrat voters say they are "more likely to consider voting Labour" if the economy shows clear signs of recovery by then."

Maybe they should inject some realism into their analysis by reflecting on the IMF's report that:

"the UK economy will decline by 0.2 per cent in 2010, while ... the United States will grow by 0.2 per cent, the euro zone by 0.1 per cent and Canada by 1.2 per cent.""

So that's a diminishing UK economy in 2010, so no hope for Labour - well I feel better, not sure about The Guardian.