The best political April Fool

This time last year we were heading, ever quicker it seemed, toward the General Election. To mark April Fools day The Guardian ran a brilliant spoof of a new campaign strategy from the Labour Party. The Guardian reported that the new campaign would feature three billboard adverts reportedly being considered by aides, to present the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as a 'tough guy' – each bearing the slogan: "Vote Labour. Or else."

The Guardian's report said:  "Brown aides had worried that his reputation for volatility might torpedo Labour's hopes of re-election, but recent internal polls suggest that, on the contrary, stories of Brown's testosterone-fuelled eruptions have been almost entirely responsible for a recent recovery in the party's popularity."

In the rarified, 'Thick of It' atmosphere of a political campaign you can almost imagine this being true.