am I the only one to think duffygate was a storm in a media teacup?

[VodkaAndTonic]

The media went crazy, but the public didn't change the way they thought of Brown:

Labour supporters thought:
"Poor bloke, being on camera 24/ 7, she was a bit bigoted, it could have been worse, he could have said, 'Fucking hell, who the fuck was that fat Northern slapper, she should have been put down; I am going to fucking fire whoever set that up. It was Sue, was it? Sue, you are fucking fired."

Tory supporters thought:
"This confirms all my worst suspicions about that pro immigration, out of touch, control-freak dour Scot. She's right, there are too many Eastern Eurropeans nowadays."

Surely the only person who actually changed the way they were going to vote was Mrs Duffy herself?

Bloody meeedja.

Actually, I think you'll find that little things like Mrs Duffy could have swayed a few 'don't knows' into 'definitely nots'. Some Tory/Labour supporters are very forgiving and will vote for a trained ferret if it's wearing a blue/red rosette (viz Hazel Blears et al) but the more wavering voter can take inspiration from surprising sources when chewing the end of the pencil in the voting booth.