Although he is one of Theresa May’s chief cheerleaders, the Ashford Conservative and pensions minister Damian Green has been spared one job - pretending to be the leader of another party.

Back in 2010, when we had the first TV debates, the then immigration minister was asked to play the role of Gordon Brown to help prepare leader David Cameron for his first appearance.

This time, he has managed to escape the role-playing - chiefly as there have bee no head-to-head debates.

DESPITE the polls appearing to narrow, Conservative candidates may not be knocking on your door - if you live in Kent.

It is not that they have given up, far from it.

But with most Kent seats cushioned by comfortable majorities, they have been press ganged into helping out candidates outside Kent.

So, they are being shipped out to places like Eastbourne and Twickenham to canvass on behalf of colleagues in more marginal seats. It’s not a new strategy and there’s no secrecy about it.

And if you are among those suffering from election fatigue, it might just be a bit of good news.

WHICH brings us to those placards. It seems that no campaign visit or event can take place without the must-have election accessory, helpful to swat away summer bugs and offer a bit of shade.

But what happens to them after the election? We hope they’re made of recyclable material. Especially ones used by the Green party.

SO, for election junkies what time can we expect the results in Kent’s parliamentary seats to be declared?

Most councils - with heavy qualifications - seem to think that the 2am to 4am period will be when they are expecting to announce.

One council is not saying anything at all. Thanet is refusing even to hedge its bets - saying that it won’t make any predictions either before or during the count.

Given that the battle for South Thanet in 2015 saw the result announced at 10am, you can perhaps sympathise with their reservations about committing to a time.

IT’S always a fillip to secure a defection prior to an election and the Conservatives didn’t conceal its delight at securing UKIP Thanet councillor Peter Evans.

For Ukip, the problem is that he might be the first of many should the party go into meltdown at the general election.

And council leader Chris Wells sought to brush it off as a minor matter - perhaps because criticising his former colleague would look rather odd, given that he himself defected - albeit in the other direction back in 2014.

If you think it has been a little quiet on the election front in Kent, you wouldn't be alone.

After being at the centre of the political battle in 2015 - largely because of Nigel Farage - the county is being bypassed by the political VIPs - who are heading for other seats where the tussle is closer.

Two years ago, virtually ever member of the Conservative cabinet - along with Boris Johnson - took a trip to the seaside to help in the campaign.

The parties have battles elsewhere to fight - leaving Kent a political Siberia and distinctly lacking in drama.

You can read more about this here

And finally, if you've ever wanted to own a former MP, the veteran Conservative Sir Roger Gale is up for auction on eBay.

No, he really is although there haven't been many bidders. Perhaps the market for second-hand politicians is not as strong as it was.