The general election heat is on in West Devon and Torridge — Liberal Democrat John Burnett has a majority of just under 2,000 which he is defending against Conservative Geoffrey Cox.
Colin Brent joined the two men on the campaign trail — and discovered a marked difference in style.
JOHN Burnett rolls up his shirtsleeves. 'Phew, it's hot,' he says. 'Reminds me of Aden; the burning heat.'
Mr Burnett, 55, was once an officer in the Royal Marines, a fact he often slots into doorstep conversations when seeking votes.
There is still something of a military bearing about him as he strides purposefully uphill, canvassing on a Tavistock estate. The sunshine has brought many people into their front gardens, weeding, pruning, planting.
'Hello, sorry to ambush you,' says Mr Burnett over the garden wall. 'I'm John Burnett and I'm on the prowl,' he laughs. His voice drops. It is almost a gentle whisper. 'Just wanted to say good afternoon and to give you this leaflet. I do hope you will support us.'
He and the voter chat for a few moments. One tells Mr Burnett how he worked for Devon County Council for 30 years. 'Did you really? Fantastic.' Fantastic is one of Mr Burnett's favourite words.
Party politics is rarely mentioned. Mr Burnett prefers to find a local subject or person of mutual interest as when one couple tell him they play bowls for the Sir Francis Drake Club in Tavistock.
'Do you really? Fantastic. I was arranging for Bideford Bowling Club to come to the House of Commons but the election put paid to the visit.'
Down the road, June Robertson, a retired civil servant, is weeding her garden. Mr Burnett homes in on her Scottish accent: 'Where are you from?'
'Arbroath.'
'I know it. It was the home of 45 Commando when I was in the Marines.'
'Were you really?' Mrs Robertson seems impressed.
They talk, but again, the subject is more the personal than the political. When Mr Burnett moves on Mrs Robertson says her main concern is crime and a belief that the country is on the 'down and down'.
She voted Conservative in 1997 and this time is undecided between doing so again or switching to Mr Burnett.
What are the main issues being raised by voters with Mr Burnett?
'Health, education, transport and the effect of the foot and mouth crisis on the rural economy,' he says. 'There's a feeling that while the disease appears to have subsided there is still a lot of financial distress.'
The Euro is also raised, he says. On this issue Mr Burnett breaks ranks with many in his party. He does not want to join the Euro in the next five years and if there is a referendum during that time he will campaign against joining.
'I am in favour of our membership of the EU, but we must have sustained convergence and that will take some time to achieve.'
Mr Burnett, and his wife, Billie, meet a clear supporter in mother-of-three Mrs Bianca Griffiths, who runs Tavistock Pre-School. They have met before. She agrees to have a photograph taken. A pose. The camera clicks. Mr Burnett gives Mrs Griffiths a peck on the cheek, a wave, and moves on down the road.
Mrs Griffiths says her main concern is education. More primary school teachers are needed, she says. And more funding for pre-schools.
'I voted for John Burnett in 1997 and I shall do so this time. He's been so good to the pre-school — he gets so involved in the community.'
There's something strange going on here. Voters are not saying they will vote 'Liberal Democrat', rather they say they will vote for 'John Burnett'.
It is as if as MP for West Devon and Torridge over the past four years, Mr Burnett has put himself above party politics. Or is it suggestive of a larger, national change in attitude towards party politics, the death of ideology?
'There is not the anger there was in 1997,' says Mr Burnett. 'The response is quieter, more gentle — and better than ever.'
In Mohuns Close, 78-year-old John Maynard accepts Mr Burnett's outstretched hand. 'I won't vote for you, but I'd like to thank you for being a damn good MP,' says Mr Maynard, adding that he regrets that people like Kenneth Clarke and Michael Heseltine have 'spoiled the Tory Party'.
Mr Burnett avoids the debate, thanks him, bids him a polite farewell and leaves.
Mr Maynard watches him leave and says quietly. 'He has all the characteristics an MP should have. I'm a Tory, but if he gets in again I shan't be sorry.'
Mr Burnett climbs back into his campaign wagon. There are no loudspeakers or campaign theme tunes. 'I had loudspeakers in 1997 but I don't think people want that any more,' he says.
The mobile telephone rings. It is the Truro Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor who is to be a speaker at Mr Burnett's Tavistock adoption meeting. 'Hi, boy, how are you?' says Mr Burnett. 'You're doing fantastically well.'
They discuss the latest national polls which show the Liberal Democrats moving slowly up.
He ends the discussion and his wife, Billie, reminds him he has to write a speech for the meeting.
One last question. After becoming an MP, Mr Burnett sold his farm and his senior partnership in a successful law practice in West Devon. He could have opted for a comfortable early retirement. Despite what cynics may say, being an MP, for any party, is a tough job.
Why does he do it?
He replies: 'I believe in public service. I believe everyone should put something back in.'
That's a very glib political answer, I tell him.
He looks a little hurt.
'But it's the truth,' he says. 'As a tax lawyer I was doing more and more work for rich people. As an MP I can help thousands of people from every background. And I only ever wanted to be MP for West Devon and Torridge. I have no ambitions in the sense of a higher political office.'
I tell him that as he's a Liberal Democrat that's probably just as well.
Mr Burnett smiles. Then he laughs. He throws back his head and laughs.
YOU can hear them coming before you see them. The loudspeakers play a patriotic tune, then the LandRover hoves into sight, Union and St George flags fluttering from its roof in the blazing sunshine. Geoffrey Cox has arrived in South Zeal.
There is a gathering of five party supporters to meet him. Mr Cox tells them what they want to hear. And more. Like the Conservative Party nationally, his target is Europe.
'Our party policy is clear. Before any further treaty we will write into law what amounts to a constitution so that there are certain areas where the powers of the European Union cannot go.'
Mr Cox tells them a Tory Government would erect a 'Chinese wall' that would prevent any federal moves towards harmonised policies on tax, and criminal justice.
And on the Euro he draws a clear line in the sand. Mr Cox is against it. No, Blair-like, if the economic conditions are right, no Hague-like, well, for one term only . . . he is against it. Like Margaret Thatcher, his view is 'never'. Full stop.
'I will not vote for the Euro while I am an MP and I will not budge on that.'
And if the Conservative Party changes its mind and comes out in favour of the Euro?
'Then I will resign as an MP,' he says. 'But I don't believe my party will ever recommend the Euro.'
Mr Cox also says he will 'stick up for British farmers'. A Tory Government would bring in an immediate ban on foreign food imports that had not been produced to the same standards as those in Britain.
It goes down well with the party faithful such as Joan Curtis and Joyce and Bill Worthington. And it impresses Ursula Radford who says she voted Liberal Democrat in 1997 but would now vote Conservative 'because I want to keep the pound'.
Her husband, Roy, says he votes for the person rather than the party. 'This time it has to be Geoffrey Cox because of his stand on Europe,' he says.
Mr Cox and his merry men and women make their way to the Maid Marion Foodstores. The greeting is genial. 'Can I say hello? I'm Geoffrey Cox. How is trade?' he asks Mrs Iris Gill who is working in the shop.
One of Mr Cox's team, Francis Luscombe, decides to buy a bunch of bananas and plops them onto the scale. 'Oh no, those are kilos, I don't want that,' laughs Mr Cox.
He spots a petition against the cutting of the 186 bus service. Mrs Gill tells him axeing the bus poses a difficulty for many people. Mr Cox and his team add their names to the petition.
'The county council have told me the cut is because of the high price of fuel,' he says. 'It's crippling local bus services.'
Mr Cox puts the case for the Tory policy on cutting the price of fuel, poses for a picture, then bids a cheery farewell.
When his team leave, Mrs Gill says she voted for John Burnett in 1997 and will probably do so again. 'He's done a lot of hard work,' she says.
Mr Cox heads for the South Zeal Stores and meets owner Helen Law.
There is only a chance for a few words as the shop is busy and Mr Cox moves on. Mrs Law is not saying how she will vote.
Outside, Mr Cox says the main issue raised by voters is the state of the countryside and the rural economy, the policies needed to rebuild it and bring it back to health. 'You cannot sit on the fence. West Devon and Torridge needs an MP that will not only work hard for people but take a lead on the great issues of the day,' he says.
'The two main questions I am asked are, What will you do for the countryside? and, Will you vote against the single currency?'
Mr Cox, a barrister, is 41. This is his first general election campaign. 'I'm exhausted but I'm delighted,' he says. 'It's going so well. People are giving us a marvellous response.'
He agrees that the election lacks anger. 'You don't find people in Devon demonstrating animosity,' he says. 'But they are angry with the Labour Government and are looking which way to vote.'
Mr Cox's approach to voters bears some similarity with that of Mr Burnett. Polite. Friendly. But Mr Cox is swift to turn the talk towards political issues and his party's policies on a whole raft of subjects.
On the doorstep of pensioner Mrs Sheila Mitra's cottage he meets voter concern that the Conservatives would scrap the winter fuel allowance.
He tells her: 'The Liberal Democrats say that, but it is not true. We will not get rid of the winter fuel payment. We say keep the winter fuel allowance, free television licence and Christmas bonus but have the choice of having them as part of your basic pension.'
When Mr Cox learns that Mrs Mitra works part-time he tells her that the Conservatives would raise the threshold on tax for pensioners by £2,000.
'It might take you out of tax altogether,' he says.
Mrs Mitra seems impressed. Mr Cox turns the talk to the Euro but Mrs Mitra says she is undecided about the future of the pound. 'I don't know enough about it yet to make up my mind,' she says.
The LandRover awaits. Mr Cox bids Mrs Mitra farewell and climbs into the vehicle.
Mrs Mitra tells me she voted Liberal Democrat in 1997 and is undecided this time. 'Liberal Democrat or Conservative,' she says.
The LandRover growls into life. Sticklepath is the next stop on the Cox campaign and later that day, a flying visit by Shadow Chancellor Michael Portillo.
The loudspeakers on the LandRover amplify a selection of patriotic tunes such as Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia.
'We play some Tamla Motown as well,' smiles Mr Cox.
The speakers also broadcast Jerusalem, written by that Victorian mystic, William Blake, and, ironically, a favoured hymn of socialists. Mr Cox says it is one of Mr Blair's favourite hymns.
Mr Cox is fond of Blake's poetry. As he climbs into the LandRover he quotes the opening line of one Blake's most famous poems: 'Oh, rose, thou art sick!'
Which probably sums up Mr Cox's opinion of Tony Blair's New Labour Government.