A transport of derision, and why I feel sorry for Harriet Harman...

Gosh, there's a lot of fuss been made over a pink (or is it magenta) minibus this week. Anyone would think that it was a scandal, or that a General Election was only eighty-four days away...

From the perspective of someone with some sense of how you get attention, a bright colour that stands out from its surroundings is usually quite a good idea. And how many pink/magenta vehicles have you seen lately? So, in that sense, the colour is quite a good choice. Cliched? Well, yes, if you think in cliches, but isn't the content of those policies which Labour think will appeal to women voters rather more important than the colour of the bus? And, if you find the concept of "women's issues" patronising or insulting, and I know a lot of people who see it that way, why not argue that instead? And again, yes, I know that a lot of good people, some of whom I consider friends, are doing just that.

No, my ire is focused on the media, whose inability (for the most part) to address, or even recognise, the issues means that a campaign which will determine so much of our country's future will come down to a contest to avoid so-called gaffes, trumpet simplistic soundbites and evade most of the questions that the more thoughtful of us would rather like answered.

In the midst of all of this fuss about a bus, Harriet Harman stands, attempting to retain some gravitas. I am, I admit, not a fan. She reminds me in many ways of Hillary Clinton when she ran for the United States Senate - quite competent but not apparently grasping the concept of empathy. She also seems unable to convey a sense of humour, which all of us occasionally need. But, and this is an important 'but', she is potentially an influential person in our future politics. What she thinks, and why, is perhaps more useful to understand than what she feels about the colour of a bus.

And wouldn't it be nice to hear her explain why those issues that the Labour Party have defined, for whatever reason, as being most relevant to women, are more relevant, and why attention to them should influence, or repel women voters? I'm not a woman, and I'd be intrigued to be offered another perspective that might help me to take a broader view of the issues, especially those I know less about. I fear that it may be too much to ask though.

It doesn't get any better, this campaign, does it?...