On the campaign trail
Authors: W. Russell
Journal: BMJ (1983)

One of  aspects of a general election campaign that  voters never see is  way that a party leader's  grows and grows in performance.  point is that  actual audience at each rally hears basically  same speech, but with sections added to highlight  issue of  day. Gradually these sections take over  whole  so that  audience at  final rally hears it in all its perfection. But  voters at large never do.  most that they get is  issue of  day as reported in  press or on television. One of  things that keeps those hapless souls like me sentenced to what amounts to three weeks' hard labour? following, in my case,  Prime Minister around?is watching the speech take shape, and noting that what went down well in Birmingham fails to move them in Slough. Election tours are a time out of reality for  press who follow, since we are never in touch with events, only in pursuit of our politician.  text of  speech, or at least  extract for  day, is usually issued by party headquarters to  resident political corps in London, although now and again we might get our copies a little earlier. So we journalists have to while away time that may very well be unproductive in terms of getting something into  paper.  Thatcher tour has been dubbed Gulliver's Travels, since by a happy coincidence that is  name of  pilot who captains  chartered BAC-111 that takes Mrs Thatcher, her entourage, and  travelling press, as we are known, around  country. On land we travel in a fleet of buses.  pace may be quite hectic, and there are days when little things like lunch simply slip past unnoticed?even by Prime Ministers. So far it looks as if Dr David Owen,  deputy leader of  Social Democrats, is being proved right and that health is  hidden issue of  campaign. It has certainly not surfaced in  way that defence or unemployment has, nor would I expect it to. But I expected perhaps a little more argument, more debate, more charge and counter charge than there have been. The speech has not altered much over  days from its basic form. This goes :  government since  war has done more for  disabled.  promised to maintain spending on  National Health Service, and  45 000 extra nurses and 6000 extra doctors are witness that we have more than kept our promise. Those extra doctors and nurses made it possible to treat two million more patients than Labour ever managed. Hospital waiting lists are now lower than they were under Labour, despite last year's futile strike, and we're designing new hospitals. If that's dismantling  NHS then Sir Christopher Wren was a demolition contractor. But Mrs Thatcher's concern is not in doubt, it is what happens next that is not clear. She clearly thinks that over  period of her government Labour has managed to make  running on health and that her record must be defended. In  impromptu speeches during her whistle stop tours she always raises  issue and defends that record in  most vehement terms. We have honoured our promise to  NHS.  will continue to sustain  NHS in  way we have looked after it over  last four years. I want to make that absolutely clear because I know people are worried about this, she said on one occasion. Then again, she said: We decided to give priority to  NHS and you can see from our record that its future is safe in our hands. And later: The NHS is safe with us. No one can argue with  facts.  have to let them speak for themselves. There do not seem to be many worries in Mrs Thatcher's mind about  outcome of  election, but she is not a lady who likes to have her success, as she sees it, unfairly criticised, hence all  rhetoric about  Conservative record on  NHS. She does not, however, promise anything specific, which is intriguing to say  least.