The campaign rollercoaster Winners and losers after a long six weeks
The Guardian|July 04, 2024
The general election campaign is nearly finished at last, and we trust you've enjoyed the ride.
Esther Addley
The campaign rollercoaster Winners and losers after a long six weeks

Soon it'll be all over bar the counting - but, for now, who and what were the real high and low points of the past six weeks?

On the up

Camera doorbells

Knock, knock. Who's there? Theresa May. Theresa May who? Ba-dum tish, etc.

No, really, it's Theresa May, and could I give you a leaflet? Be honest, who had cold-calling former prime ministers going viral on their election bingo card? Unexpected or not, both May (in Perth and Kinross-shire) and David Cameron (in Hamble Valley, Hampshire) have been captured on video doorbells leaving messages for homeowners who were either not home or crouching behind the sofa with the TV hastily muted.

Creating new former Conservative prime ministers, to be fair, is one of Britain's last great manufacturing industries, so there are a lot of them to go around. (Although the campaign contributions of Liz "I'm not the worst PM ever" Truss and Boris "two holidays" Johnson have arguably been less helpful.) Not that everyone welcomes the advent of Ring doorbells. In Kingston and Surbiton, one camera recorded two Tory canvassers apparently discussing the number of immigrants on the street, while Labour's candidate in Aberdeen South was filmed telling a resident the party "didn't bother at all" in 2019 to help the Tories win.

Maybe best stick to just popping through a leaflet, eh?

Ed Davey's best life

Is it statesmanlike? No. Has it got anything remotely to do with potentially being the third largest party in Britain's lower parliament, or with any of the problems facing the country? Not even slightly.

But for sheer relentless abandon in tossing his dignity to the four winds, and then doing it again and again for six long weeks, Ed Davey's campaign on behalf of the Lib Dems has been a thing of giddy joyfulness. Which is not something one ever said about Tim Farron.

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