As diligent students of British politics understand, most votes under our first past the post system make no real difference to the result of a general election. The ones that count are those cast by swing voters in marginal constituencies. The Conservatives have been confident in their assertions that, despite a narrowing gap in nationwide opinion surveys, their lead among these defining voters in the marginals is big enough to make the crucial difference. A carefully targeted poll in this morning's Times suggests their confidence may be misplaced.
You can always tell when a major football tournament is around the corner when there is a massive drama surrounding the availability to a key England player.
Just to clarify that I am not talking nonsense and that there is, in fact, a curse on us, here are some are the biggest storylines to appear in this soap opera that has haunted England in the last 10 years:
2002:
