The media posse on the battle bus is not as large as it was. In the last five days we have covered around 3,000 miles by coach and by air, eaten several kilos of sandwiches together with a daily dose of Danish pastry courtesy of Titan Airlines. He appeared genuinely relaxed and enjoying taking the fight to Labour at last. Jon Sopel of the BBC was ordered by an aide "not to spoil it" by asking questions that had been put to Mr Major in the morning.The adoption of Mr Hamilton and the disarray in the Labour ranks on privatisation, the unions and Scotland have produced a transformation in his mood. From Mr Snappy on Tuesday, Mr Major had become Mr Accessible on Wednesday, even chatting happily to the press on board his loaned British Midland 737 as it flew back from Brecon. On the racecourse at Aintree on Monday, after the Grand National, Mr Major was prepared to do "a doorstep" with reporters on the IRA's failure to stop the race, but reporters were warned off mentioning Neil Hamilton and Martin Bell.

He frequently jokes about Mr Blair being chicken for not facing him in a television debate.The soapbox is also Mr Major's natural battleground, the Brixton boy trying to convince the unconvertible on the streets.It is a style of campaigning foreign to many modern politicians briefed on television technique But Mr Major is also acutely aware of the cameras. He is approaching his campaign like the leader of the opposition and is attempting to unsettle Labour, which means making himself available to challenge Tony Blair at every opportunity, from the soapbox, the street and the new platform attached to his battle bus. His rallying speech to party supporters at the JCB plant on Thursday was almost exclusively devoted to challenges to Mr Blair.It is Mr Major's stock in trade on the street; he gets the biggest cheers for accusing Mr Blair of hypocrisy on education for his son. Mr Major is fulfilling his commitment to the party conference last year to be out on the street fighting to win against all the odds. The organisation - first-class briefings, facilities for sending words and pictures, even refreshments to keep the mood upbeat - all help to keep the Blair message in our papers and on our screens.The problem is that, with Labour playing safe, behaving more like government than opposition, interest in that message is waning fast.. So tight is the rein on which reporters are kept that on Wednesday the Press Association correspondent was asked to take off her brown coat during a photo opportunity because it was deemed to be a depressing colour on a sunny day.There is an upside, but even that benefits Mr Blair.

In fact, these moments of improvisation are often seen more than once. Nevertheless, members of the audience, seeing them for the first time, say they are impressed by his off-the-cuff messages and the sincerity they convey.Journalists stand in fenced pens during walkabouts, are often excluded from parts of visits and are kept well away from the Labour leader. Local journalists are granted interviews with Mr Blair, while the national press are kept well back. Questions shouted desperately at him by national hacks are greeted with a blank smile.Again and again, Labour's Big Ideas about reduced class sizes for five- , six- and seven-year-olds, windfall taxes and shorter NHS waiting lists are trotted out - for soundbite consumption only.During Q&As, Mr Blair often takes in his breath, stands back, utters the words "You know..." and launches into what looks like an impromptu diversion.

Since he began his campaign, there have been largely stage-managed question-and-answer sessions in Derby, Kidsgrove and Basildon. Except, perhaps, that his university reputation for acting and learning his lines is well-deserved. There are three buses bearing the legends "Leading Britain", "Into the future" and "With Tony Blair". After two weeks, and thousands of miles on the road, up the tracks and in the air, the 50 or so press corps - whose employers have each paid pounds 7,500 for a ticket - knows no more about the Labour leader than it did at the start. Once, when caught misbehaving at school, I was given the choice of serving one hour's detention or writing an essay about the inside of a ping-pong ball. The crowd changed its chant: "Get your soup and slippers, Major. You're boring."Mr Major got back into the battle bus telling aides: "That was great." His aide said: "He feels this kind of campaigning - with the leader on the hustings - has not been seen for years.".