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<\/picture><\/span>PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIt has felt like a week where politics has notched up a gear. Again. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The local, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales are a week away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And the general election is imminent too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Quite how imminent? Texts zip around seeking the latest morsels of gossip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Opposition parties twitch in excitable anticipation that the election could be this summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some Conservatives ponder that that option might be better than clinging on, as critics may see it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Other senior figures in government leave me with the impression that they revere the privilege of governing and getting things done that they want to get done.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And by that logic, you would put off the election until later in the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n So let’s see. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The prime minister held news conferences three days in a row, in three different countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I was at each of them, the first in London, the second in Warsaw and the third in Berlin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For a leader who does not seek the public spotlight for its own sake that is notable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As was how long he was willing to take questions for from us reporters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is the sort of thing politicians with people to persuade do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And the opinion polls suggest Rishi Sunak has plenty of folk to persuade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Conservative promise to spend 2.5% of national income on defence by 2030 has been proudly and repeatedly trumpeted, advisers texting repeatedly to point out endorsements from the US and elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Labour are scathing about the Tories’ numbers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While this was the government making an announcement about planned levels of defence spending, what it really was – this close to an election – was a Conservative campaign pledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Meanwhile, talking of pledges, Labour publish what amounts to a manifesto for train travel – 26 pages on glossy paper, after months of work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Nationalisation is the controlling thought, although that word itself never actually appears.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I hear every single sentence had been given the once over by senior party figures, with a last minute edit to remove a single word. Alas I do not know what that one word was. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Whatever it was, it is an insight into Labour’s caution. Worrying about every word, taking nothing for granted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is a policy distinct from the Conservatives, on a topic that matters to millions of people. And Sir Keir Starmer invited us along to its launch at the Hitachi train factory in Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The carcasses of half-built carriages hover above the factory floor, propped up on stilts, the veins of their wiring dangling loose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Incidentally, there are some nuggets in “Labour’s plan to fix Britain’s railways” worth reflecting on. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Labour will set targets for modal shift to lower emissions from the transport sector,” the document spells out rather dryly, on page 16.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A senior Conservative texts me to leap on what they see as a Labour instinct to be anti-car. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And what exactly are these targets? I ask Sir Keir repeatedly, and do not get a direct answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He says it is about making trains sufficiently attractive that we choose them over driving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Four days, four places, a blizzard of questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The parties squabbling, almost hourly, over the small print of each other’s announcements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The election(s) near. The arguments sharpen. The scrutiny notches up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Rwanda bill passage draws election dividing line<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The councils selling the family silver to pay bills<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Election poll tracker: How do the parties compare?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n Published at Thu, 25 Apr 2024 22:13:34 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chris Mason: Politics gears up ahead of election PA By Chris Mason Political editor, BBC News It has felt like a week where politics has notched up a gear. Again. The local, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales are a week away. And the general election is imminent too. Quite… Continue reading Chris Mason: Politics gears up ahead of election<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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