Cause and effect

Remember UK Conservative leader David Cameron's strategy of embracing "green politics"? Two weeks after that idea hit the headlines, Cameron has already overtaken the governing Labour party in the eyes of the British public:

The poll finds that the Tories are ahead of Labour by 37% to 36%, with the Liberal Democrats on 21%, compared with Labour's five-point lead a month ago. Minor parties have also been squeezed from 10% to 7% by the David Cameron-led Tory revival. It is the first time in five years the Tories have been ahead - the last was during the fuel crisis - and the second time since 1993, after the pound crashed out of the European exchange rate mechanism. It suggests that a solid majority of voters, 55%, is now dissatisfied with the job Tony Blair is doing as prime minister, though he remains overwhelmingly popular (82%) among Labour voters.

Note also that much of the bounce appears to be coming from votes previously parked in the Liberal Democrats, as Cameron's environmentally-responsible stance wins over voters who oppose Labour but don't want to see a hard-right alternative take power instead.

Fortunately for the NDP, nobody in Canada's Cons has yet had the same bright idea as Cameron. And with Harper still in charge for another election and Layton's popularity still finding ways to improve from the high levels already reached after the last session of Parliament, the NDP looks to be a long ways away from facing the same problem as the Lib Dems.