Now six line up to fight Boston

Well, we weren't far adrift with our prediction of the announcement of a date for the General Election.
Thursday May 6th is the day, to co-incide with local government elections - though sadly not in Boston, where they are not due for another year.
There are now six candidates who have already thrown their hats in the ring for the seat - the current incumbent Mark Simmonds for the Conservatives, Paul Kenny for Labour, Philip Smith for the Lib Dems, Boston Borough Councillor David Owens for the BNP, Christopher Pain for UKIP, and Independent Peter Wilson.
In 2005, the swing to the Conservatives was 6.4%, with the vote for Mark Simmonds up 3.3% at 46.2% of the poll, with Paul Kenn on 32.1% for Labour - down 9.5%.
The seat is regarded as one of the safest for the Tories, although it is targeted 33 by the Liberal Democrats, 65 by Labour, 99 by the Greens, and 194 by the UK.
There's no indication about where the BNP might have Boston on its hit list, but the party is fielding candidates in all seven Lincolnshire constituencies.
And as Boston is described by observers as having an overwhelmingly white and middle class population, the significance of immigration in the area could give the party a boost.
Despite its rock solid Tory tendency, the Conservative majority was small in 1997 and 2001, but increased significantly in 2005. Having said that, Boston and Skegness gave UKIP its best result in the country, and pushed the Lib Dems into fourth place.
There's not much forthcoming from the candidates at this stage, but we'll bring you news as we get it.
The only action we've noticed so far has come from Labour, where Paul Kenny now has a new photo and is tweeting. You can read his tweets on the Sky News website link to the Boston constituency.
His latest offering says: "You only have to look at Stonewall's website which shows how MPs voted on equality issues then you realise that Tory MPs won't ever change."
And before that: "We now know the big day is 6th May - will the people of Boston & Skegness wish to see major cuts to public services like SureStart centres."
Somehow we think they may well have more important things on their minds.
And what about the Boston Bypass Independents?
Last week we wondered whether they might be minded to put their money where their mouths were and field a candidate for Westminster.
However, given the way they tend to roll over rather than challenge the Tories, we suspect that they will stay mute, and rely on cosying up to Mark Simmonds assuming he is re-elected.
We certainly don't think that there's any reluctance by the BBI to throw the party hat into the ring through fear of becoming a laughing stock at declaration time. We are sure that if asked, a spokesman would say the BBI would win with an overwhelming majority - but just can't be bothered.
Interesting times ahead, as they say.

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