"If you want to deport your neighbour, vote Labour"

More from the inestimable Liam Byrne - would-be Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, formerly of Andersen Consulting, Rothschilds, and the Social Markets Foundation - and his attempts to understand local residents' concerns:

Labour is on your side—the Lib Dems are on the side of failed asylum seekers...

We have taken tough action against those who abuse the system as a cover for economic migration.

While Labour were tough the Lib Dems were wimps—they tried to stop us taking away benefits from failed asylum seekers and they voted against plans to speed up deportations.

Thousands upon thousands of leaflets, like this one, through every door in the constituency. I quite fervently hope Labour lose; it is a huge Labour majority, and the New Labour machine is pulling out all the stops, but a defeat is on the cards for the bigot banker and his ghastly politics. (Naturally, Liam Byrne supports the invasion and occupation of Iraq.) The Lib Dems, however, seem embarrassed by their own support:

The Lib Dems have printed two election leaflets. They are identical except for the main photograph.

One of them shows Lib Dem candidate Nicola Davies and Charles Kennedy surrounded by a large mixed-race crowd.

The other shows just Davies and Kennedy. One black person who does make it into the shot has his face covered by a large caption.

The "ethnically cleansed" leaflet has apparently been distributed only to the mainly white areas of the constituency. Unpleasant, although a blip compared to New Labour's overt racism.