A trip on the Tory battle bus with the elusive Mr Gove

Archie Mitchell joins the minister for a ride on the campaign trail but comes away with more questions than answers

- Archie Mitchell

When a soaking wet Rishi Sunak stood in front of Downing Street last month to call a snap 4 July general election, the Conservative Party needed a miracle.

Almost three years had passed since the Tories enjoyed a lead over Labour in the polls, and the prime minister had given them just six weeks to turn it around. No campaign is ever perfect, but Mr Sunak’s needed to be pretty close to stop Sir Keir Starmer walking into Downing Street on 5 July. But since the prime minister kicked off proceedings in the wettest of circumstances, the picture for the Tories has gone from bad to utterly bleak.

With poll after poll predicting an unprecedented wipeout, The Independent takes you behind the scenes on the Conservative Party battle bus to see the veteran campaigner Michael Gove in action.

At 9am yesterday, the Tory-blue bus was parked outside a cafe in the heart of Westminster to pick up a gaggle of broadcasters, print journalists and photographers – as well as Mr Gove. We were heading for Capital Interchange Way, a housing development in Brentford, west London.

Reporters had blocked out four hours for the trip in the hope of being able to grill the housing secretary on Tory policy, the party’s campaign and the rapidly unfolding election betting scandal.