The talk of the Westminster village today will unsurprisingly centre on Labours declining fortunes in light of the latest YouGov poll for the sun (you know… the pollster than got the mayoral result bang on). With Labour trailing the Conservatives by a massive 26 points (the only time the Conservatives have enjoyed a bigger lead was 40 years ago) many will be asking whether the poll is an anomally; a reflection of the mood in the country as it stands in the light of Labour’s thrashing last week rather than an indication of a fundamental and sustainable change in the Conservative’s already growing popularity.

It should be borne in mind however that this poll is only relevant, in any substantive sense, in one arena – the Parliamentary Labour Party. And it is precisely in this arena, an arena where hundreds of MPs are considering the likelihood of their continued tenure on the green benches, where the power of perception will trump cold reality.

Amongst friends of course the belleagered members of the PLP will dismiss the results with forced confidence: “it’s anything-you-want-gov, it doesn’t mean anything”. But hehind closed doors they will consider the possibility that this poll isn’t an anomally, that like the mayoral poll it acts as a portent of disaster about to befall Labour, the chime of a political knell. Even those MPs who have the strength of character to stare YouGov’s poll in the face and convince themselves it’s further off the mark than Gordon Brown’s political judgement when he decided not to attend Gwyneth Dunwoody’s funeral will find it difficult not to contemplate the distinct possibility that even if the poll is an anomally it nevertheless demonstrates a fundamental change in the country’s mood; a change of mood that means one very simple thing – job hunting will be very much on their to-do list in two years time.

Those on the Right will rejoice at today’s poll, whilst those on the Left will deny it’s accuracy and dismiss it’s relevance. But for the MP whose dreams of greatness are staring disaster in the face the accuracy of the poll means nothing next to the possibility that it’s accurate; for them, perception is ultimately much more imporant than reality.