WITH both a general election and Halloween on the horizon, is it any surprise that recent weeks have seen the reanimation of once-dead local institutions?

Believe it or not, wannabe Conservative MPs, have been using campaign election materials designed to look like fake local papers, even ones named after now-defunct real papers. 

Even our own Connor Donnithorne, Cornwall Council's current portfolio holder for customers, appeared smiling on one such leaflet designed to look like a fake local newspaper - the Cornish Chronicle. 

The tactic has been widely condemned by local papers, industry bodies, and residents receiving the materials, with some describing them as being deliberately designed to fool people, particularly the elderly. 

Now, I don't know about you, dear reader, but surely if you thought you had decent, thought-through, potentially election-winning policies, you probably wouldn't feel the need to resort to such dirty tricks. 

How completely void of new ideas or insights must these people be in order for them to feel as though the only way they're going to convince people to elect them is to mislead them with propaganda disguised as journalism?

Are they so ashamed of their own branding that the mere thought of putting the Tory party logo on their campaign leaflets leaves them trembling in terror at the thought of losing power?

The fact that Mr Donnithorne has been involved in such tactics tells you an awful lot about the way in which he might conduct himself as an MP. 

Although given that he's looking to replace a certain 'Useless Eustice,' the good people of Camborne and Redruth might not notice that much of a difference.