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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
John Crace

Is Tony Blair addicted to being heard? Downing Street’s rehab clinic can find out

The front door of number 10 Downing Street in London
No political reporting goes on when the polls are open, but that’s not to say there isn’t plenty happening inside No 10. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Polling day. A day when power reverts temporarily to the people. A day when newspapers send photographers to snap the cutest dogs outside church halls and schools. A day when not much stirs in Westminster.

Polling day. A day when even those not voting catch a lucky break. The rules of purdah apply. So switch on the TV or radio and you’ll be spared the sound of politicians talking. Either trying to tell you that everything is working as it should or that it isn’t. A day off from the binary reductiveness of political discourse. A chance to reflect on what really matters. Or just to forget.

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