The local election campaigns are underway and, as usual, hardly taking the country by storm. Both parties are slinging huge quantities of mud at each other, albeit neither the Tories nor Labour seem to remember the capabilities of local councils. Labour’s current campaign slogan is “High taxes and low growth. Britain can do better than this”, which implies councillors’ job is to grow GDP. The Tories, meanwhile, have launched a new campaign on Facebook targeting constituents of the Labour shadow cabinet, accusing them of voting “to keep illegal migrants in Britain”. One Tory source boasted that, unlike when Labour briefs the press about Facebook attack ads, they have actually put them out. Guido calculates they’re spending around £3,000.

One thing Guido can’t work out is why one of CCHQ’s attack ads is being directed at Jenny Chapman, who is referred to as the “MP for Darlington” in the Tories’ advert. She lost her seat in 2019. Peter Gibson won’t be happy…