What Irish voters and politicians will learn from the British election

DON’T you just love a neck-and-neck election? That’s what the general election in the UK is shaping up to be. It offers all the potential excitement of our favourite spectator sport. It’s just a month away, and already it looks like it will be a really tough and bruising encounter.

Both of the main parties are level in the polls. Neither (it seems) can win an overall majority. Both have money to spend. Already — and parliament hasn’t been dissolved yet — both of the main leaders have been grilled by Jeremy Paxman in a television debate.

It’s like a delicately poised football match between two top teams. There’s every possibility it will be decided by mistakes rather than by brilliance.