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.
That was the rebuttal issued by Peter Mandelson on the Andrew Marr show this morning in response to allegations in the new-look Observer.
The paper is serialising a book by its chief political commentator Andrew Rawnsley - The End of the Party - which charts the fortunes of the Labour party under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Chief among the allegations is that Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, became so concerned by reports of Brown's explosive temper that he looked into the matter and told the PM: 'This is no way to get things done'.
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