Labour and Conservative battlebuses hit the road, but ‘lonely figure’ Sunak seems like a solo traveller

Labour leader Keir Starmer, deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves launch the party’s campaign bus in Uxbridge on Saturday. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images

We may be in an era when elections are fought with TikTok memes and Instagram reels, but one thing has stubbornly refused to give way in the digital age: the good old battle of the campaign buses. On Saturday, Rishi Sunak unveiled the Conservatives’ bus that will tour the country during the 2024 election, emblazoned with the slogan: “Clear plan. Bold action. Secure future.”

It is – arguably – a slightly snappier version of John Major’s bus in 1997, which bore the words: “You can only be sure with the Conservatives.”