What it's been like covering the party leaders' election visits to the North East

While of course we all actually vote for who we want to be our local MP, for very many people the party leaders will be in their mind when casting their ballot - and those possible prime ministers dominate the general election campaign.

They visit key target or defensive seats, trying to show voters in different parts of the country that they care about what you care about, and win the 'air war' via engaging photo opportunities.

During this campaign, I've seen and interviewed the four main party leaders on visits to the North East and North Yorkshire.

For us regional media, it's a chance to question them on local priorities and hopefully provide some insight into who they really are.

Nowadays, actual engagements between most leaders and members of the public are rare, due to security concerns and the political risks of encountering angry voters.

So the best bits of unpredictability have come from children on school visits.

Sir Keir Starmer seemed thoroughly relaxed in a classroom in Eston recently, perching on one of those little primary school chairs, as one young girl demonstrated her wobbly tooth.

He laughed wholeheartedly about the prospect of it "landing on the desk", seemingly aware it might not be an ideal image, as he tries not to throw away his lead in the opinion polls.

His big rival Rishi Sunak also seemed to be actively enjoying himself at a Stockton school this week, full of enthusiasm and nearly getting it right when he asked the kids if they'd read "Room on a Broom" (look it up, non-parents).

I should point out we weren't in the room for either of those two leaders' encounters with pupils, the filming done by one broadcaster's crew and shared with others in a standard 'pool' arrangement.

We were kept elsewhere in preparation for a brief interview slot, where the Labour leader delivered familiar buzz-phrases like: "it's important for us to make our positive case for the future... to earn votes here."

His Conservative counterpart displayed an even greater determination to land his key messages, managing to shoehorn in a line about cutting taxes in answer to my question about GCSE grades in the North East.

With Nigel Farage things feel like they're more off the cuff, and the media opportunities around him are less tightly managed.

He drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 Reform UK supporters to a speech on the outskirts of Houghton-le-Spring on Thursday lunchtime.

There were Donald Trump vibes, certainly in terms of political theatre, if not political content.

Mr Farage is a polished performer, but did slip up in our interview, mistakenly referring to his old party, UKIP.

There aren't too many comparisons you can make between Reform and the Liberal Democrats, aside from pointing out that Sir Ed Davey has also been keen to put on a show during this campaign.

Compared to trips on rollercoasters and water slides, an art class in Harrogate was pretty sedate.

He has not been afraid to look a bit silly in order to get attention for his party and their policies, though I did over-hear a colleague suggesting he try to stand up straight when drawing.

Certainly they are all different characters, who have taken varied approaches during this campaign.

It must be exhausting, zooming around the country, being absolutely fascinated by what everyone has to say.

They only have a few more days left, and then there's the small matter of one of them actually being prime minister.

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