A question of trust

5.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 5th Oct 2004

Michael Howard addressed the Conservative Party earlier today and I was amazed by what he said. He effectively said 'we lied in the past, Tony Blair has lied, but you can trust us not to lie anymore'. I agree there is a problem of trust in British politics but for Howard to say that is simply amazing.

He is right they have both lied but I have no reason to feel I can trust them in the future. No wonder people are being turned off by politics if this is the way people are being treated - the simple answer Michael (and everyone else) is not to lie in the first place.

Interestingly according to a Newsnight/ICM poll only 12% think Michael Howard will be elected as Prime Minister in next year's General Election. The poll also showed that nearly twice as many people believe the Liberal Democrats are a more effective opposition than the Conservatives. This follows last weeks Hartlepool by-election saw the Conservatives slump in to fourth and the Liberal Democrats record a swing of 19% from Labour.