Compare for a moment the homepages of the country’s two biggest political parties, just weeks before an anticipated General Election.

The Conservative homepage tells me that they think immigration limits are the way forward, that homeowners, rather than burglars, should be protected by the law, and that they have clearly set out policies for action on tax, schools, hospitals, crime, asylum, and immigration. It carries only two (small) mentions of the Labour Party.

The Labour Party homepage tells me that the Tories are bad. It tells me nothing at all about Labour policies. In fact, the Tory party takes up the second-biggest headline on the page. And the only pictured party leader is Michael Howard! There’s isn’t a Labour member in sight!

And yet, despite hiding their policies away beneath a thick layer of Tory-bashing, Labour is ahead in the opinion polls, and roundly predicted to win the next general election.

Who said that intelligent discussion is the way forward for politics?