Today, it seems, politicians of all colours and flavours woke up to the forthcoming by-election here in Sutton.  A small Labour team was spotted heading up and down the High Street mid-morning, delivering leaflets through selected doors (though, sadly, not mine).  A UKIP leaflet was in evidence.  And the Conservative agent was seen outside the Conservative Club with a car boot-full of literature.

“I live locally,” says the UKIP candidate in his election address.  Well, maybe he’s local to someone – but only if, like him, you happen to live at 1 Oak Farm Drive, Little Downham, the address he helpfully adds in small print at the bottom of his leaflet.  Putting the word ‘local’ in your leaflet eight times doesn’t really change the fact that you live nine and a half miles away from Sutton, though.

“Local resident Jane Frances is the local choice for the Sutton by election,” the Labour candidate helpfully tells us in her leaflet.  That would be ‘local’ as in 15 Second Drove, Little Downham, then?  Almost 11 miles away, according to the AA route planner: which, far from being ‘the local choice’, in fact makes her the candidate living the furthest away from our village.  To underline the point, Jane’s leaflet shows a photograph of her standing locally.  Well, locally, that is, to her campaign last autumn to be elected in Ely East – is that the top of the Forehill in Ely carefully cropped behind her?

I haven’t yet seen a copy of the Conservative leaflet.  Does Mr Hitchin of 7 Chelmer Way, Ely claim to be ‘local’ too?  Does anyone have a copy?  How local is ‘local’?  And how acceptable is claiming to be local in order to be elected when, in fact, you’re not?