Get yourself a nice strong cup of tea and somewhere to sit down, SourceWire has got something to break to you…there’s a General Election on its way. Easily missed, we know, but we’re doing our best to help journalists by rounding up Election related press releases on our General Election press releases page – 40 and counting today. We’ve rooted through them for a few funny facts and more serious stats…

1) Would Nicola Sturgeon agree she’s got a similar leadership style to Nigel Farage? Max Isaac, author and consultant specialising in team-based management systems, says they’re both “energetic, opportunistic leaders”. Isaac also believes Sturgeon’s style could clash with Ed Miliband but Nick Clegg and David Cameron have a “naturally synergistic combination”. More details on

New analysis predicts outcomes of power sharing duos once in government

2) 58% of small business owners and managers believed the Conservative party to be the best bet for their interests, says online accounting company, Clear Books. See the full figures on:

Small companies want Conservative government – Clear Books poll

3) As of 30 April Nigel Farage is the candidate most people would like to have an unfortunate encounter with a pigeon, and Natalie Bennett seems to be the one they’d shout a warning to – but this could all change. Find out more about Nigel Hall’s light-hearted app on:

Voters Target Unpopular Politicians With New Pigeon Poop Opinion Poll App

People’s Opinion Of Politicians has an easy outlet with this app

4) Bennett is also popular with students whose favoured parties are Labour (37%) and Greens (26%) although only 1 in 4 of them are certain to vote. More about this survey of 5,000 students by youth research agency Red Brick Research on:

Green Vote at Record High Amongst Students, Liberal Democrats and UKIP Slump To 5%

5) Students may not hold much sway though, as older voters are up to two thirds more likely to vote than younger groups and would prefer a Conservative majority. Personality-wise, Nicola Sturgeon is the over-50s favourite – if only she could talk Helen Mirren in to being her deputy it would be a walkover. To see how this makes sense read the full release from over 50s recruitment website SkilledPeople.com at:

Voters aged over 50 set out election winners and losers in new poll!

6) Can George Osborne perform a factory visit without his favourite hard hat and and hi-vis vest? Yes he can, and we have photographic proof from Street Crane Company in Derbyshire:

Government Spotlight for UK Crane Builder

In the interests of balance, so can Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls when he visited Anglian Home Improvements in January:

Shadow Chancellor calls in on Anglian Home Improvements

7) The lead up to the election may have had a positive effect on consumer confidence, with the health of the UK retail market improved by one index point in Q1 of 2015. The KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) research says “consumers may be feeling more relaxed, due to minimal economic policies being brought in ahead of the election campaign season”.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE GROWS IN BUILD UP TO GENERAL ELECTION

8) At SourceWire we believe fervently in cake as a means of communication, and now it turns out it could predict the election results as well. Cake delivery company The Brilliant Bakers are tracking the popularity of the parties via sales of their election cupcakes. Cupcake Confidence in Conservative Conquest to Come – you heard the headline here first, folks. And possibly last. More on:

Election Cupcake sales may predict the outcome

Sales stats from The Brilliant Bakers for their Election Cupcake range

9) Back to over-50s election fever – for them, David Cameron just pips Nicola Sturgeon to the role of best performer at the seven-party TV debate on 2^nd April. Hardly anyone agreed with Nick Clegg, who trailed in last at 3% in this www.Silversurfers.com poll –

NICOLA STURGEON 2ND FAVOURITE IN OVER 50s POLITICAL TV POLL SUGGESTING POSSIBLE CONSERVATIVE-SNP ALLIANCE

10) Finally we’ve featured this story before but it’s worth revisiting for a reminder that four of the major parties are among the UK’s most disliked brands according to London ad agency isobel – UKIP and the Conservatives come 1^st and 2^nd, while Labour and the LibDems come in 4^th and 5^th.

NEW RESEARCH REVEALS THE UK’S MOST LOVED (and hated) BRANDS

New election stories are coming in regularly on http://www.sourcewire.com/topic/general+election and if you’re a journalist with a General Election story to finish off, and need an expert, case study or some background, why not put out a free request on ResponseSource – you could get answers in minutes, find useful new contacts and save valuable time.

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