This is a narrow-cast election, not a national contest

This continues to be a most remarkable election. I can’t recall any other contest in which so many parties were speaking to so many different audiences, many of them niche. This, to use a ghastly piece of jargon, has been a narrow-cast election. There is no UK-wide conversation; everything is local and particular.

It’s spawned some notable election literature. I’ve been forwarded one such piece of mail, delivered to lord knows how many voters in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (the finest constituency in the land, by the way). This is what it looks like:

It reads:

Dear Resident,

I’m writing to thank you for the tremendous support that I have received from across the Borders during the last few weeks and months of this election campaign.

Over the last 6 months, I have knocked on over 20,000 doors and spoken to thousands of people in the Borders. I know that many local residents share my concerns about the need for more local jobs, improved transport links, the potholes in the roads and the possible loss of frontline NHS services, including the community hospitals.