A question of credibility
With all eyes on Wall Street, the City and Downing Street, the Liberal Democrats in Bournemouth are feeling a little neglected - and having trouble getting their message through.
They now want to be seen as tax cutters but polls, , suggest it will take time to shake off their tax-and-spend image.
A senior Lib Dem told me last night that the strategy going into the next election was to hold on to as many seats as they can in the South - where they will face a Tory onslaught - but to hope to pick up Labour seats further north.
Hence the new emphasis on tax cutting. They hope that will improve their appeal in Tory areas, while in Labour areas, they will stress that the tax cuts will be concentrated on the lower end of the income scale.
But there is still the issue of credibility. Some voters will probably see it all as just a cynical ploy.
Others will doubt the tax-cutting credentials - after all, the promised 4p cut in the basic rate of income tax will be offset (at least partially) by the introduction of a local income tax; and the much-touted £20bn cut in public spending will not be used primarily to cut taxes but redirected to "Lib Dem public spending priorities".
So the new strategy is not quite as clear cut as it seems and we'll be examining it more closely on the show today with not one but two former leaders of the Liberal Democrats.
I'll be talking to Charles Kennedy in Bournemouth about the direction Nick Clegg is taking the party, while Menzies Campbell will be in the studio in London commenting on Day Four of the party's autumn conference.
There's a lot going on today: we have Chris Huhne's plans to "Cut Crime by Catching Criminals"; a speech by the party's president Simon Hughes and a debate on Europe, an issue on which this once most Europhile of parties is now downplaying.
Chris Huhne even told us yesterday that the commitment to joining the Euro would be dropped from the next manifesto.
Plus we'll have all the latest on the as the Labour Party's National Executive Committee meets ahead of its conference - rebels are hoping to force party officials into sending out nomination forms for the position of party leader.
All that on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 from Noon. Hope to see you then!
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