Would David Cameron be better off without the Tories?

At least that's the way the latest poll reads for one of the key marginal constituencies in the Black Country.

In 2010 they dumped Labour in favour of Conservative James Morris.

Now it looks like his Labour opponent Stephanie Peacock is pulling ahead, just.

She's on 39 per cent to his 37. So it's still all to play for.

What proved far more interesting was one of the follow up questions.

People were asked if they were satisfied with the job David Cameron was doing, whether they were dissatisfied with him but preferred the Tory leader as PM to Ed Miliband or whether they'd rather have Ed Miliband.

The largest number, 31 per cent, were pleased with Mr Cameron. Another 29 per cent were not but wanted him over Mr Miliband. Just 29 per cent wanted the Labour leader as PM.

This means there are a lot of people prepared to vote Labour anyway even though they are not particularly keen on Mr Miliband.

Similarly there are UKIP supporters there who are not prepared to drop the Eurosceptics in favour of what they may consider to be the lesser of two evils in Number 10.

There is a possible reason for this. And this is just my own speculation fuelled by my irritation at so many interviews with front benchers refusing to answer what I believe to be a fundamental question in this election: Who will you do a deal with?

Labour won't go into a coalition with the SNP. But it hasn't ruled out the so-called 'confidence and supply' arrangement where it might offer the SNP various incentives to back it on key votes.

The Tories, meanwhile, may look to woo UKIP if it wins enough seats to make any difference or even try to come up with a new coalition with whatever remains of the Liberal Democrats.

The only thing I'd be prepared to put any money on is that it is going to be another hung Parliament.

Last time it took days of discussions and back room deals to cobble together a government.

We ended up with something no-one voted for. Lib Dem voters did not vote for their party to be second fiddle to the Tories. Conservative supporters did not vote for their party to be impeded on key measures by the Liberals.

The main parties refuse to even accept the possibility of anything but a majority but we all know what's coming.

With that in mind the only thing anyone can do is vote on May 7 according to the individual who will represent them in Parliament.

Who runs the country is going to have to be left to a small bunch of people to cobble together among themselves. And we'll just have to live with it.

North powers ahead.Will we be left behind?

George Osborne set out a vision for a Northern Powerhouse during his last Budget before the election.

He promises that Greater Manchester will be allowed to keep 100 per cent of growth in local business rates and was delighted by plans for it to have an elected mayor.

Meanwhile in the West Midlands, four whole months on from the announcement that there would be a combined authority, the Black Country is still drawing lines in the sand over the name (not Greater Birmingham, for crying out loud!) and insisting there will be no 'metro mayor'.

Essential as it is to get these things cleared up, it does rather show up just how far behind the West Midlands is compared with its northern neighbour and the ever expanding south east. If our politicians aren't careful, the West Midlands will be the 'squeezed middle' Ed Miliband used to talk about.