Off the Record

Politicians rarely use one word when several can be deployed - usually because they either want to sound important or because they want to try and conceal something from voters.

Shadow Labour transport spokesman Andrew McDonald was pressed to set out how his party would fund an attractivelooking pledge to slash the price of rail tickets by a third.

His answer? “By repurposing an existing tranche of hypothecated funding.” Confused? You are probably not alone. What he actually means is that money which was to be spent on other transport schemes would instead be used to subsidise the costs of cheaper rail travel.

Labour activists were out in force in Canterbury on Sunday in another mass canvass and were treated to a pep talk from the shadow first secretary of state Emily Thornberry who sent them on their way with a spring in their step despite the freezing conditions. Ms Thornberry was on familiar territory - she stood as the candidate in the constituency back in 2001 where she very nearly did what Rosie Duffield did in 2017, ousting the long-serving Conservative Julian Brazier.

It has been a rather quiet campaign in terms of VIP visits and so far we’ve had the princely number of, er, two.

The Conservatives sent down the health secretary Matt Hancock in a visit where he faced the awkward challenge of trying to reassure candidates in several constituencies that the pledge by the PM to build 40 new hospitals would not necessarily mean down-grading others.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is hardly a style icon but he showed some sartorial flair with a navy blue jacket whose lining features the party slogan ‘For the many, not the few’ running vertically through the fabric. Perhaps Boris Johnson will see that as a cue to have his own suit jackets adapted with ‘Get Brexit Done’ sewn into the lining.

Follow @PaulOnPolitics on Twitter