Now I am a chauffeur

CELIA BARLOW was greeted by a lot of well-wishers today.


There were plenty of young mums - and dads - who want her to be re-elected as Hove MP.

But some were concerned that the odds were stacked against her - defending a slim 400-odd majority with polls predicting enough of a national swing to the Tories to wipe her out.

David Cameron's "Bully Boys" are still stunned that Celia managed to beat one of their young rising stars, Nicholas Boles, five years ago.

It was seen as a minor miracle ... and many pundits believe she needs another one to be re-elected tomorrow. In fact,the Tories - who are fielding a very unimpressive candidate in Mark Weatherby this time around - are a lock with the bookies at 10-1 on! Celia is a massive 12-1 to hold on to her seat.

But she does have a chance.

Beyond all the wealthy houses and apartments in central and West Hove - and along Portslade seafront - there are a huge amount of working to middle-class families who are loyal to Labour. The key is that she does not ship votes to the Liberal Democrats - who have no chance of winning here. A vote for the Lib Dems will return the Conservatives.

I spent a couple of hours today with Celia - acting as her chauffeur and companion - ferrying our MP to and from HQ to a door-knocking session and then some canvassing at a couple of local schools.

Things went well. But it is still clear that, even today, there are plenty of undecided voters.

People are still confused. I think David Cameron's Big Society jargon and his well-worn Change soundbites and personal attacks on Gordon Brown are becoming tiresome. His massive, expensive ad campaign, funded by a billionaire tax exile, seems to have actually had a negative effect on the public.

Nick Clegg - under scrutiny - is proving no longer to be the big hit he was only up to a week ago.

But coming up on the rails is Gordon Brown, who really has saved his best for last. The passion is there for all to see. People are beginning to wake up to the fact that substance wins over style and hopefully tomorrow they wake up and vote Labour.

And, of course, that Celia holds on to Hove so she can continue working hard for the people of this city.