For those who like to know this sort of thing, of the three manifestos published this week, Labour topped them all for size, with 126 pages, followed by the Lib Dems at 100 pages and the Conservatives at 88 pages.

But of course, size doesn’t always matter and you could argue that brevity is to be commended - something politicians tend not to always appreciate.

And if the Green party - with its environmental stance - comes in at anything above 88 pages, there will be questions to answer. As to Ukip - that’s anyone’s guess.

THE campaign in Kent hasn’t really taken off yet and the question arises as to whether it will as time is running out for the parties to send down their big hitters to the Garden of England.

Back in 2015, you couldn’t move for VIPs as they clamboured on to their battle buses and beetled down the M2 or M20.

The battle for the keys to Number 10 - according to conventional wisdom - is won or lost in Kent - or at least it used to be.

When Tony Blair was in his pomp, he made sure early stops in the county were made, usually in the first few days to reassure middle England voters. Still, Mr Corbyn can’t not come, surely? If he does, we predict he will be heading for Thanet.

THE Conservative manifesto contained a pledge that it would not countenance cuts to rail services in towns or villages where significant housing development was planned.

That will be useful to those commuters and rail users concerned that under the new franchise for Kent, services with less frequent stops might be permitted.

One other area where the DfT is coming under pressure is to consider reducing the premium it will allow the new franchise holder to charge for High Speed tickets. For some reason, it is currently set at 30% although we have no explanation why.

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall had a rather torrid time on the first leaders’ debate on ITV, mistakenly calling the Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood “Natalie” - not once but twice.

He clearly felt discomforted by the whole thing, hesitant and relying on cue cards to remember his lines.

If the party performs dismally on June 8, it might be looking for a replacement. Assuming it still exists.