Going For Gold - a clarification

Word has reached me that some of our supporters and helpers have received contacts allegedly from the Labour party as to my supposedly limited ambitions. If true, you have to hand it to Labour, they are a crafty bunch, and I guess all is fair in love and elections. But maybe I did not make myself clear, so please let me clarify.

I want to win this election and become the MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey. I do not want to be second, third, fourth or seventh, I want to be first. I have worked very hard these last four months with the intention of going for gold.

I have spoken to thousands of people, knocked on thousands of doors, delivered thousands of leaflets, held high street stalls, taken part in debates, replied to hundreds of emails, visited schools and societies, travelled all over the constituency, and accepted as many invites to meet people as I could. I’ve also got a job when I have time to go to work. I have not talked to as many people as I would like – but I have not done too bad!

But I wouldn’t have done all this if I had no intention of winning.

It is true that in an earlier blog and a newspaper interview I referred to us being second – this is because some Conservative supporters and many Labour supporters were coming our way, both because they did not like the actions of their own party and because they were attracted by what we had to offer. The first leader’s debate accelerated this process. And I did say that second would be a good result considering our tiny resources compared to the masses available to the old big two.

However I also said we would not rest there. We would be working until 10pm on 6 May to get as much support and as many votes as possible. As I said, someone has to challenge Gordon Henderson and the Conservatives.

If the polls are correct, Labour’s support compared to 2005 has declined by about a third, the Conservatives is about the same, and ours has increased by about a third! This plus boundary changes means that Labour simply will not defend a majority of only 79. It is obvious that only the Liberal Democrats can stop a Conservative victory in this constituency.

If the good people in Sittingbourne and Sheppey agree that the government has let us all down and want genuine change, but not the devastating changes that the Conservative party will bring to the constituency, then they should vote Liberal Democrat.

And I want to win!!