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General Election 2019: Queen's Speech question throws Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

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There are always points in an election campaign when a politician makes some kind of gaffe which matters enormously to some and others find monumentally uninteresting.

Jeremy Corbyn's convoluted answer to a question about whether he watched the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day is one such example.

Jeremy Corbyn hesitated about whether he watches the Queen's Speech
Jeremy Corbyn hesitated about whether he watches the Queen's Speech

Will it cost the party the election? Of course not but his evasive response to the question adds to a picture of someone who has a habit of ignoring the basic rule that when you are in a hole, stop digging.

It's almost as if he knows he has been caught out but invents a narrative of his own - an alternative truth if you like - to explain away the inconsistencies.

Perhaps the length of the campaign is getting to everyone.

It's been dubbed a snap poll but a campaign lasting five weeks is anything but - quite a few candidates I have spoken to have muttered about the duration, a bit like parents complaining the school summer holiday is too long.

A shorter campaign would, of course, reduce the time candidates are exposed to the scrutiny of voters (and the media), but there is a sense the parties are finding it difficult to come up with new things to say.

Still, the end is in sight, although the election itself is a prelude to another chapter.

Whether it is a compelling political page-turner, we will have to see.

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