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Shopping for a vote

Deborah McGurran | 20:11 UK time, Friday, 23 April 2010

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is having a week where he's being blamed for everything.

"According to some of the rich reporting that's been going on, it was me stoking the volcano in Iceland, it was also my fault that a beach in Brighton that should be sandy is now covered in pebbles. So if anything goes wrong with your life I'm at fault," he jokes.

The is addressing supporters in a supermarket car park in Norwich and he's on a roll.

"if you need any confirmation that politics is changing, just look what's been happening."

He warms to his theme: "this is now a people's election where people will not be told by politicians what to think or what to do.

"There are millions of people who are turning their backs on the politics of the past, they want something new and they're responding to our message of hope."

The Liberal Democrats are feeling good about themselves at the moment.

During Mr Clegg's visit - several activists come up to tell us about the positive reaction they're getting on the doorsteps. One excited councillor hints that it may even be possible for them to take the which most commentators consider to be a safe Conservative seat.

Nick Clegg

The buzz surrounding Nick Clegg and his TV debates has thrown this election wide open. But the reality for the is that they still face an uphill struggle.

In most seats in our region the Lib Dems are in third place, a long way behind the , who are still leading the polls.

They may well poll more votes this time. David Howarth the former MP for Cambridge recently predicted that they'll get more of the popular vote than .

If that happens the clamour for electoral reform will be deafening but the reality is that being so far behind in such a strong Conservative region means that it will be very hard for them to actually win seats.

Maybe that will turn out to be the story of this election. Maybe the electoral system will be changed. Maybe.

Mr Clegg, though, believes that anything is possible.

"Nothing will ever change if people don't believe that change is possible, but it is. Look at other parts of the country like Sheffield where I come from, which people once said would never turn to the Liberal Democrats but have. You've got to believe in change".

In the Lib Dems are in second place, three thousand votes behind Labour.

This is a seat which you might expect them to take. But it won't be easy here as the picture is complicated by a strong presence.

The Greens are the main opposition party on the local council while the Lib Dems only have six seats and a recent poll put both of them a long way behind Labour's Charles Clarke.

In , their next best chance, they are four thousand votes behind the Conservatives. It's an uphill battle, although the Lib Dem team there are very excited.

In and the new Broadland seat they are deemed to be almost seven thousand votes behind well established Conservative candidates.

If the Lib Dem surge continues, seats may well change hands in other parts of the country - but in our region it still seems a big ask.

Then again, as Nick Clegg said, anything is possible.

In this election, like never before, you get the feeling that might be true.

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