Many years ago I was asked for some advice by a man who wanted to be an MP. He was the prospective parliamentary candidate for a constituency not too far aware from here and he wanted to know how he could get publicity in his local newspapers.

Let’s just put this into context. The incumbent MP had been in position since the constituency was created in the late 1990s and was a member of the ruling party. He didn’t court publicity but was well-liked in the town and had a reputation for getting things done.

At the time, the next general election was a long way off and I had to tell the man who wanted my help that unless he did something fairly dramatic (for good or ill) the chances of him being mentioned in the local newspaper were slim. Frankly, no one really wanted to hear what he had to say.

He wasn’t happy when I told him that people wanted to know what their actual MP was doing and saying, especially as a member of the government, and that the views of any would-be challenger from any of the other political parties counted for very little.

I also pointed out that publicity can cut both ways and there was a certain amount of criticism of the government and by extension of the town’s MP.

Undeterred, he said he was playing the long game and was keen to build up some ‘name recognition’. I wished him luck, pointed out that he was only a ‘prospective’ candidate and that things would only change for him once an election was called when it became a level playing field for all the candidates.

He wasn’t happy.

But remarkably he went on to narrowly take the seat at the next general election and held it (again very narrowly) at the subsequent election before losing the seat (by an even narrower margin) at the election after that.

The fact remains that there is a sliding scale of publicity and scrutiny and at a local level the top of that scale is reserved for MPs who are part of government and hence part of the decision-making process.

This is why I am more likely to write about Andy Carter, the Conservative MP for Warrington South than I am about Charlotte Nichols, the Labour MP for Warrington North.

(Of course, that could all change if Labour wins the next general election).

Which brings me neatly on to Mr Carter. I was minding my own business last week when the local TV news reported on the City of Chester parliamentary by-election result which saw Labour hold the seat with the best result since 2010.

And who should pop up but none other than Andy Carter.

Anyway, Mr Carter was obviously disappointed at the Chester result and said the Conservatives needed to get back to implementing the manifesto on which the Conservatives fought and won the 2019 general election.

So here are the headlines from that very manifesto:

Get Brexit done (spoiler alert, it’s not done. Just ask Northern Ireland).

Extra funding for the NHS, with 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP surgery appointments a year.

20,000 more police and tougher sentencing for criminals.

An Australian-style points-based system to control immigration.

Millions more invested every week in science, schools, apprenticeships and infrastructure while controlling debt.

Reaching Net Zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure.

Not raising the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance. (That went well.)

Ensuring work will always pay. We will create a fair society, in which everyone always contributes their fair share.

So how’s that working out for you? So many promises, so little achieved.

Maybe Mr Carter has a point about sticking to the manifesto but the clock is ticking. The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than January 2025 which leaves just two years for the government to provide, for example, 50 million more GP appointments a year.

As Voltaire (and Spider-Man) said: With great power comes great responsibility. And I might add great scrutiny.