Shrugs and blank looks greet Sir Keir Starmer's Wolverhampton appearance
It was a short enough walk, but Sir Keir Starmer's stroll through Wolverhampton city centre certainly highlighted one of the key challenges facing him as he bids to win back voters.
As the Labour leader made his way from the train station, up past the Grand and onto Dudley Street, before popping into Bilston Street nick for a chat with officers, one thing was immediately noticeable.
And it was that hardly anybody seemed to care.
Boris Johnson's visits to the city in recent years have seen him mobbed and cheered in the streets. Even former Chancellor George Osborne – hardly the most likeable of characters – was called on to pose for a few selfies when he last turned up at the Star's Queen Street offices.
In contrast, Sir Keir's appearance was greeted with complete disinterest.
There was nary a murmur in his direction from any member of the public he wandered past. No requests for selfies were made and no one called his name out.
To illustrate the point, a woman approached the entourage with her phone raised, then immediately lowered it when she saw what was in front of her, disappointment etched across her face.
There is a strong sense that people either don't know who he is, or aren't really bothered.
In Sir Keir's defence, he was relatively unknown as a politician outside London before he was elected Labour leader in April 2020.
And any efforts to raise his profile since have been severely hindered by the pandemic.
With restrictions now lifted he is finally able to get out and about, with an understandable focus on visiting constituencies where voters have ditched Labour for the Tories.
It is going to be a tough sell for Sir Keir to get people on board with his version of Labour, but the challenge will be slightly less daunting once people actually know who he is.
