Labour braced for by-election 'punishment'

Amid the continued low profile of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, on the campaign trail, the polls show Labour trailing the Tories by 13 points.

Yesterday, bookmakers suspended betting on the contest as they were sure the Tories win.

With Labour's so-called "anti-toff" campaign under attack from its own members, there are growing signs that activists are resigned to minimising the swing to the Conservatives, rather than going for a win.

Steve McCabe, Labour's campaign manager, said yesterday: "Voters may well take the chance to punish us and, if that's what happens, it is hard to resist. It's perfectly possible that will occur."

And he admitted that Labour had "a hell of a job" to do before tomorrow's vote.

However, the Birmingham Hall Green MP, who is also a party whip, insisted the Labour still has enough pledged votes to win.

He added: "We are trying to turn up every Labour pledge. We have enough promises of support to win."

Mr McCabe was yesterday unaware bookmakers Ladbrokes had stopped taking bets on which way the vote would go.

When told one punter from London had bet 40,000 on the Tories to win, Mr McCabe, said it "showed you what they think of the people here. They think it's a sport. They probably put this constituency alongside shooting and fox hunting."

Mr McCabe told The Scotsman he was "unrepentant" over the aggressive tactics used against Edward Timpson, the Conservatives' candidate.

Mr Timpson has been chased by activists wearing top hats who are trying to highlight his privileged background as heir to the wealthy Timpson shoe- repairing empire.

Describing the Tory candidate as a "nodding dog", Mr McCabe seemed exasperated at the anonymous criticism of his campaign.

He said: "We are going to do this on very traditional terms. Despite all the fuss, this is about electing a successor to Gwyneth Dunwoody, who was an outstanding constituency MP.

"While we may have been told the whole thing is to give the Prime Minister a bloody nose, we think the whole purpose is to look after the people of Crewe and Nantwich. The Conservative boy is not the boy to do that."

Meanwhile, on a visit to the area yesterday, Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, said the result of the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich should not be a "verdict on Gordon Brown".

Asked if he was resigned to defeat, Mr Johnson said: "We are resigned to victory as far as this by-election is concerned.

"(Voters] are not looking at national issues. We had bad polls before Ealing and Southall. It is not a verdict on Gordon Brown."

Meanwhile, Mr Brown took to the airwaves to support Tamsin Dunwoody – the daughter of the late MP, Gwyneth – who has been chosen as Labour's candidate. Mr Brown told BBC Stoke Radio that she had been running a "positive campaign".

Asked about what he made of the anti-toff drive, the Prime Minister revealed: "When I was fighting my own constituency campaign I had someone in a kilt playing a bagpipe. These things happen in a by-election."

Commenting on how Labour was polling in the run-up to the by-election, Mr Brown said: "We've got a great candidate who's been campaigning on all the local issues.

"Let's just see how people vote at the end of the day. You have got lots of polls and they always come out with different figures, but what really counts is when people come out and cast their votes."

Mr Brown admitted the country faced a "difficult economic period" and said he had been listening to people's concerns.