Thread by @KateEMcCann

The problem with Jon Ashworth’s comments is, as @Laura_K_Hughes said just now on #PoliticsLive, they ring true. Speaking to people is as unscientific as the bus beep poll (see earlier tweets!) but I wished I had listened more closely in 2017 so learning that lesson...

We’ve been on the Conservative bus this campaign. We’ve spent a lot of that time in the midlands and the north of England in areas not typically strong for the Tories, some where business are really struggling and things are pretty tough.

I’ve been struck by how well the Conservative message has stuck. People repeatedly - of their own accord - talk of ‘getting Brexit done’, about how a Labour government would ‘betray or delay’ Brexit and criticisms about Mr Corbyn himself.

Yesterday at a haulage company a guy who has never voted Tory said he would this time, largely for anti-Corbyn, pro-Brexit reasons. He said he would like to buy Boris Johnson a pint. His friend agreed.

At a business in Teeside a man who said his whole family would disown him for admitting it said he will be backing Boris Johnson this time for the same reasons. (That’s notable too, people are backing a man not a party and they don’t see this as a long-term choice necessarily)

There are others who are wavering. Long-time Labour supporters who are struggling to support Mr Corbyn. They worry about Mr Johnson’s other policies so could be swung by questions on trust. There remain a good chunk of people who aren’t yet decided.

There’s another theme that runs through these visits though. That the Conservatives have turned up at all. It has come up a few times now, that people haven’t heard much from Labour or they haven’t had a visit from Mr Corbyn. That seems to make a difference.

This is unscientific and there are many who say they will never vote Conservative too. But as I said at the start, I wish I had listened more to people on the road last time round. It’s not a personal prediction or support for one party over another (!). Just a report.