Speaking on a visit to a factory in Essex ahead of Wednesday's Queen's Speech, the prime minister said many people were having "tough times".

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Some political rivals have criticised Ms Hutchings for missing a BBC Radio 5live by-election debate last week, instead preparing for a visit to a factory.

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He happened to visit a Bukaka factory.

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Less than fondly, he recalls a late-1980s visit to a French pigment factory where the air was thick with powder laced (he suspects) with toxic heavy metals.

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His route ran close to those neighbours' borders, with brief hops across, for instance to meet the Polish president and prime minister, and to visit a Skoda car factory, in the Czech republic but owned by Volkswagen.

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Mr Bersani's first move after his victory was to visit workers in a textile factory.

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But on a visit to the town of Fumel and Metaltemple, a truck components factory, where shifts has been halved in recent months, he concedes it is not the best time to run for the governing party.

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On Mr Randell's first visit to the factory, he stopped to read a notice board filled with thank you letters from local school children who had done work experience in the factory.

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