The common complaint that politicians are hopelessly out of touch has been brought into sharp focus by the flooding crisis.

The sight of the Prime Minister wringing his hands only to be shot down by flood-stricken residents accusing him of seeking to secure some kind of electoral gain vividly underlined the disconnect.

Boris Johnson appeared particularly inarticulate and lacking in empathy with those whose homes were under several feet of water.

There’s no doubt that he timed his visit badly and should have taken an interest far earlier in the crisis.

His spin doctors won’t have been happy at the repetitive footage of voters giving him short shrift.

In isolation, events like this won’t turn the election outcome but cumulatively, they can be damaging in creating an impression that politicians are prone to making misjudgements.

And as the Liberal Democrats are discovering, there are other kinds of misjudgement. The bitter recriminations over the party’s decision to install a new candidate after the decision of Tim Walker to stand aside continue and in spite of the efforts of party leader Jo Swinson to draw a line under the saga.

Her hardline stance and refusal to entertain the idea of an informal pact was presumably designed to show she could take tough decisions.

Unfortunately, while she has been consistent, the tough line looks less convincing in the context of the party’s willingness to strike pacts elsewhere - including Tunbridge Wells - where the party’s prospects of winning appear rather slim.

And saluting the bravery of those candidates from other parties who had been prepared to stand up as remainers rubbed salt in the wounds.

Meanwhile, we finally know the candidates whose names will appear on the ballot papers and there have been a few twists - and Canterbury has, as ever, thrown up some surprises. The Green Party has not nominated a candidate, the suspicion being that it has done so to aid the cause of Labour.

That notion was, however, rejected in a statement saying it "will not be entering into any kind of deal, pact or alliance with any other party, and does not endorse any other party".

The party added "in the current political circumstances" members had decided not to contest the seat - a rather cryptic statement.

There was more mystery after the absence of the one Brexit party candidate due to stand did not appear. Owen Prew seemed to have disappeared but it’s unlikely that the disgruntled party chiefs will be sending out a search party..

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