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The chancellor and prime minister seldom appear together Reuters

The fact that David Cameron and George Osborne appeared together on a public platform with no other ministers may appear entirely unremarkable, particularly as it was to announce projects previously published by the government.

But it was Downing Street that was eager to point out the relevance of the event, confirming this was the first time the two had appeared alone since the general election. And it was that fact which made it remarkable.

Until now there has been a reluctance for the two men to appear alongside each other for some understandable reasons.

There have long been criticisms from within the Tory party in Westminster that it is run by the small elite group comprised of Cameron and Osborne with their coterie of advisers, all from the same sort of privileged background.

Ordinary backbenchers, and even some ministers, felt deliberately excluded from that ruling group. It has even been suggested some previous policy gaffes have been down to that limited, narrow input.

Ensuring Britain has first class infrastructure is a crucial part of our long term economic plan.
- David Cameron

At the same time, the more the two were seen side-by-side in public, the more the impression gained ground that the Tory party was dominated by highly-privileged, wealthy individuals who were clearly not "all in it together" with ordinary voters.

But, as the economy has started to recover and the chancellor has started to be viewed as a huge positive for both government and party, not to mention a leadership figure, so there has been a desire for Cameron to be associated with the successes.

There is always the danger with hugely successful chancellors that they start to look like the real power in Downing Street and there has already been the suggestion that Cameron is the front man for Osborne's government.

There is also the bonus of reminding voters that this remains a strong, friendly relationship, quite different from the one between their predecessors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, or even previous Tory prime ministers and their chancellors.

As Cameron said at the event, they wanted to show there was a "team" running the country.

History is strewn with examples of damage done to governments when the relationship between the two top people breaks down. Even Margaret Thatcher suffered from it.

And, as the prime minister's spokesman said, the fact the two of them were taking to the platform together ensured plenty of media coverage. Although he also added: "What is important today is high-lighting that the £30bn investment in infrastructure is an important part of the long-term plan. That is what they are doing."

It was pointed out it didn't need the two most powerful men in government to make the re-announcements, but that missed the fact that this was also full-on election campaigning.

With the opinion polls continuing to show Cameron and Osborne are more trusted to run the economy than Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, the two men want to drive home their poll advantage with events like this.

And the electioneering message was hard to miss. Cameron declared: "Ensuring Britain has first class infrastructure is a crucial part of our long term economic plan: supporting business, creating jobs and providing a better future for hardworking people.

"As a crucial part of our long-term economic plan, this Government is backing business with better infrastructure so that more jobs and opportunities are created for hardworking people, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families."

While Osborne said: "As part of our long term economic plan we are investing in infrastructure around the country to create a more balanced, resilient economy."

In case anyone missed it, they believe their long term economic plan for hardworking people will trump Ed Miliband's cost of living crisis.