The unofficial election campaign

When is an election campaign not an election campaign?

The answer - when civil servants are called in to help.

The Prime Minister and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, have been in Coventry this morning, launching Labour's local election campaign in the West Midlands.

They visit was organised by the Labour Party, and focused on plans to improve neighbourhood policing.

Meanwhile, Home Office Ministers have been out and about in a series of regional events.

Liam Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill) met police in Birmingham while Lord West was in Cambridge, Tony McNulty was in Watford, Meg Hillier was in Merseyside and Vernon Coaker was in Nottingham.

Once again, the visits were promoting plans to improve regional policing.

But instead of Labour Party officials doing the organising, these visits were arranged by civil servants.

The difference was that they were billed as Home Office events, and nothing to do with the election launch at all. Just a coincidence, presumably.