Simple ideas that could revive towns and high streets appeal to voters - Sarah Todd

Allegations of “verbal threats” against the party’s chairman have been made against multi-millionaire businessman and former football executive Mr Lowe, who represents Great Yarmouth.

While some will shout wokery for party leader Nigel Farage withdrawing the whip while the investigation is conducted, he must have been between the devil and the deep blue sea. If Reform wants to be treated as an equal to the other parties, it’s not rocket science that it needs to follow the same standards.

Anyway, back to the plan and what this correspondent had originally wanted to say.

Firstly, how wonderful in a world that seems full of war mongering at the moment, for the spotlight to be shone - all be it temporarily - on something that normal, everyday people can relate to.

We all see tatty towns and cities peppered with charity shops, Turkish barbers and vape stores. Places where it wouldn’t feel very safe to miss the last bus home, bereft of any sort of sense of community. Yes, it’s grass roots politics but in a world of so many happenings that are hard to understand it appealed.

The fact Mr Lowe has had a lifetime of experience in the real world - a fair number nowadays have never had what we would call a proper job - had also been appealing. As a side rant, so many modern MPs seem to look like they are hardly old enough to shave and just went to the right university and got the leg-up Westminster internship without ever experiencing real life. The fact Mr Lowe was upfront about his wealth and donated his entire MPs salary to a different charity each month also ticked some boxes.

Anyway, without chatting about Mr Lowe himself anymore, some of the take-aways from the plan included abolishing “extortionate” parking fees.

Shifting more tax burden to online giants, lifting the minimum profit threshold for corporation tax and simplifying laws to encourage entrepreneurs all sounded sensible. Perhaps it’s just me, but politicians talking about these things like cleaning up the streets with more bins and people to actually empty them, along with increased police presence is what we have been missing.

Television news bulletins used to be watched without fail, but for quite a while now they just aren’t conducive to a good night’s sleep. All the horrible happenings in the world need dealing with, but we ignore home issues at our nation’s peril. It must be said, of course, that farming and securing our food supply should be right up there on the Government’s ‘to do’ list while living in such uncertain times.

A little light is the occasional photograph arriving from The Daughter, who travelled across Australia and is now replenishing the coffers working in New Zealand.

The other day she had been at the New Zealand Derby - where she is working had bred the winning horse - and with only a backpack of shorts and swimwear had been in something of a sartorial pickle. She had found a simple cotton sundress but had nothing but some well-worn sandals, work boots or trainers to wear on her feet. She plumped for the former and reported back that it hadn’t mattered as the Kiwis, as a nation, seem so unbothered about conspicuous consumerism. So many events over here are now overshadowed by the selfie, the cost of the outfit and posting all about it online. She said it was liberating to just genuinely enjoy yourself.

When she returns her mother will be encouraging her to make an old-fashioned photograph album of this adventure.

We are all the poorer for no longer having those ‘snaps’ as our grandmothers used to call them.

It’s so sad to think of the thousands of photographs taken every day that are never printed out and therefore forgotten, no longer brought out of the sideboard for a flick through every blue moon.

The other week, after a chance meeting at a car park pay and display meter (good job Mr Lowe hadn’t had it removed), a really good friend from young farmers’ club days was bumped into. We hadn’t seen each other for over 30 years.

When we met up a few weeks later she brought an old photo album with her. It was priceless.