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In other words there\u2019s plenty to unpick in lots of what the campaigns have said. But the parties know this and still they believe it\u2019s worth it for them. Why?<\/p>\n
Ask Michael Gove. The levelling up secretary, who stood down from Parliament when the election was called, visited Conservative headquarters earlier this week to give a morale-boosting speech to those working on the campaign. He said the debates over the \u00a32,000 figure\u2019s accuracy had only boosted its salience, likening it to the furious row overVote Leave\u2019s claim in 2016 that Brexit would mean \u00a3350 million more a week being spent on the NHS.<\/p>\n
Anecdotally, Conservative candidates say there is some evidence that Mr Gove is right, especially in more affluent parts of the country. \u201cIt\u2019s working really well in the Home Counties,\u201d one minister told me. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely prompting some second thoughts for people considering voting Lib Dem because they\u2019re not that worried about a Labour government.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the north it\u2019s not working so well with switchers to Labour or Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labour insiders say there is little evidence that the Conservatives\u2019 focus on tax is harming them. But it was apparent that they feared it might from the speed with which Labour officials raced to counter the attack after that first debate.<\/p>\n
And just like the Conservatives, Labour\u2019s own contested claims are designed to amplify their core message – in their case that Liz Truss wrecked the economy and that a full term of Rishi Sunak would do the same.<\/p>\n
If the directness of Starmer\u2019s approach causes unease among some in Labour, they can\u2019t say they weren\u2019t warned. Fourteen months ago the Labour leader stood solidly behind controversial adverts claiming Mr Sunak did not think adults who had sexually assaulted children should go to prison.<\/p>\n
At the time a senior party insider told me the adverts had been a \u201ctriumph\u201d, forcing the Conservatives to \u201ctalk about what we want to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they enter the final fortnight, that\u2019s what all the campaigns want. Whatever the factchecks, whatever economists say, they want the centre of gravity of the whole campaign to be on their terrain.<\/p>\n
Whether all this corrodes public trust in politicians and what they say – well that\u2019s a question for another day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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