Election 2017: Do you believe in miracles?

If you want to imagine the future of British politics, consider the tale of Kristy Adams, the Conservative candidate in Hove. Her campaign is an insult to the electorate, but it is hardly alone in that.

After the crash, the expenses scandal, Savile and phone hacking, it became a cliché to say that trust in institutions has collapsed. If the House of Commons is to restore its reputation, candidates must be honest. I don’t mean MPs have to tell us about their sex lives or publish their bank accounts, just be straightforward.

Theresa May wants to make this a Brexit election. Taking her at her word, reporters from the Brighton Argus asked Adams a basic question.

‘How did you vote in the referendum?’

‘I’m not going to answer that question,’ was all she would say, despite being pressed repeatedly. She will not give the voters of Hove an account of her views on the election’s great question.