We’re in second place!! This could be our best result since this constituency was formed in 1997 - as the recent total of our data shows we have overtaken Labour into second place. How did we reach this possibility?
For three months we have been door canvassing and phone canvassing and hardly found any support for Labour. People who had voted Labour before informed us that they felt betrayed by Gordon Brown’s government and that the party had left its roots. Most of these were going to give us a chance as we were listening more to the concerns of ordinary people. Vince Cable, especially, was much admired. Other Labour supporters said they would not vote at all, with a few opting instead for UKIP or BNP.
Now we have started working in some more traditional Labour areas we have found a similar pattern. It is surprising to find that, apart from Sheppey, Labour’s support seems to have melted. And even in the Isle of Sheppey many Labour supporters have told us how they feel so let down by the government.
This trickle of support increased after Vince Cable’s debate performance – and is now a flood following Nick Clegg’s showing. I am struggling to keep up with the emails (apologies to those who I have not yet replied to – I’m getting there!)
There is a cloud however. Many people said they would vote Labour anyway because they believed, in error, that was the only way to stop the Conservative candidate, Gordon Henderson, from becoming our MP. So we still have Gordon as the odds-on favourite. And we think that both UKIP and BNP are also heading for a reasonable result.
Of course we have still done nowhere near as much work as I would like. And there are still a lot of don’t knows. But we can be optimistic at the moment.
Considering our tiny resources compared to the infinitesimally greater amounts available to the big two, if we finish second it would be a huge achievement.
However we must not be complacent. Two weeks are a very long time in politics and there’s a lot of hard work ahead.
Neither of the tired old two parties will like the possibility of a Liberal Democrat making progress so will come at us locally as they are nationally. We must stay alert, stay focussed and keep getting that message across. And maybe on 6 May we will surprise a lot of people in Sittingbourne and Sheppey.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sheerness and Sittingbourne - on the high streets
We have just completed two very successful high street sessions. Last week we were in Sheerness by the clock and this weekend we set up camp in Sittingbourne. On both occasions we were fortunate with the weather and were armed with policy statements, balloons and literature.
Throughout these sessions I met many people, discussing with them the wide variety of issues they are concerned about, which were mostly local, but also touched on national issues, such as tax and immigration.
Sheerness and the Isle of Sheppey has suffered badly as a result of Gordon Brown's recession so there was a lot of concern about jobs and businesses and how to revitalise the high street and the island overall. The area we were situated in was next to three empty shops as an example. People wanted to know our plans as a party and what would I, if I was the MP, do about it.
There were a lot of people who were understandably anti-politician but I was pleased to see some support for us and that Labour’s support is not as strong as we might have expected. There was a general feeling of being let down.
Then in Sittingbourne there was much positive feedback about Nick Clegg after his debate performance and people telling me that they have never voted Liberal Democrat before but were now very tempted. Again, the local economy was a subject of concern as well as schools and the commuter trains.
In both towns, the behaviour of MPs and our politicians was also discussed. And there was a lot of concern about the Conservatives getting back into power - especially in Sheerness where cuts in investment and even higher unemployment were the last thing they wanted.
Sadly every silver lining has a cloud. Half an hour after we set up camp in Sheerness, along came the Tories and set up a stall right next to us! Then half an hour after we were in Sittingbourne, what do you know, here they come again. Not further down the high street, you note, but again adjacent to our stall! Before they turned up, I had a queue of people wanting to talk to me and keen to discuss things but as soon as the blue balloons arrived, that was it, the streets got much emptier.
I have to confess blame here because I publicised the fact we would be in those places – but you live and learn.
Anyway, that was just a minor grumble. I found both sessions to be very rewarding and enjoyable. It’s always a joy to get out on the streets and talk to real people.
Throughout these sessions I met many people, discussing with them the wide variety of issues they are concerned about, which were mostly local, but also touched on national issues, such as tax and immigration.
Sheerness and the Isle of Sheppey has suffered badly as a result of Gordon Brown's recession so there was a lot of concern about jobs and businesses and how to revitalise the high street and the island overall. The area we were situated in was next to three empty shops as an example. People wanted to know our plans as a party and what would I, if I was the MP, do about it.
There were a lot of people who were understandably anti-politician but I was pleased to see some support for us and that Labour’s support is not as strong as we might have expected. There was a general feeling of being let down.
Then in Sittingbourne there was much positive feedback about Nick Clegg after his debate performance and people telling me that they have never voted Liberal Democrat before but were now very tempted. Again, the local economy was a subject of concern as well as schools and the commuter trains.
In both towns, the behaviour of MPs and our politicians was also discussed. And there was a lot of concern about the Conservatives getting back into power - especially in Sheerness where cuts in investment and even higher unemployment were the last thing they wanted.
Sadly every silver lining has a cloud. Half an hour after we set up camp in Sheerness, along came the Tories and set up a stall right next to us! Then half an hour after we were in Sittingbourne, what do you know, here they come again. Not further down the high street, you note, but again adjacent to our stall! Before they turned up, I had a queue of people wanting to talk to me and keen to discuss things but as soon as the blue balloons arrived, that was it, the streets got much emptier.
I have to confess blame here because I publicised the fact we would be in those places – but you live and learn.
Anyway, that was just a minor grumble. I found both sessions to be very rewarding and enjoyable. It’s always a joy to get out on the streets and talk to real people.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friends of the Earth - debate report
This time I visited the constituency next door in Faversham to take part in a debate on the environment hosted by Friends of the Earth. Faversham is a beautiful old English town with lots of history and has a small town centre with many small shops. It's a nice place to wander about on an afternoon.
I was quite pleased with how the debate went – this was probably my best performance so far – and of course we Liberal Democrats are quite strong on the environment.
We were each given five questions to prepare answers for and then the questions came thick can fast. We discussed what challenges face mankind, climate change, alternative fuels, public transport, renewable energies, local businesses including small shops, sustainability, what councils can do now, and education.
Liberal Democrats control more major cities than any other party and numerous towns as well so there are plenty of examples of initiatives from these councils to help the environment which I could quote. I was able to answer all the questions that came my way, get a few nods from the crowd, and slip in a few party policies.
I had three sparring partners on the panel. Firstly there was a spokesman from the Greens, a nice chap who made some good points. On environmental issues, we often agree with the Greens but we differ on the economic side of things.
Then there was a spokesman from UKIP who dominated the debate. Everyone soon lost patience with his argument that everything was the EU’s fault and that, in the face of crumbling small businesses and failing local transport, the government and councils are helpless,which seemed a cop-out to me. But it was good of him to come along and liven up the evening.
Finally, there was Ashok Rehal, the Faversham candidate from Labour. Another nice chap who performed well in a quiet sort of way.
What’s that I hear you say? No Tories? Well, the Faversham MP Hugh Robertson was invited but declined. That’s fair enough but he didn’t even send a representative like UKIP and the Greens did.
The Conservative blog’s own poll of their own candidates, when asked to list issues in order of importance, put the environment 19th out of 19. So when many members of the likely next government refuse to admit there even is an issue, then we are in trouble indeed. Understandable in difficult times but even the Lab-Con governments won't make a recession last for ever and we are talking about the long term future.
Despite that, I was pleased with how the debate went and am getting to improve these skills. Unfortunately two debates which I agreed to join (hosted by the business park and a church) have had to be cancelled so maybe others don’t find them so enjoyable.
I was quite pleased with how the debate went – this was probably my best performance so far – and of course we Liberal Democrats are quite strong on the environment.
We were each given five questions to prepare answers for and then the questions came thick can fast. We discussed what challenges face mankind, climate change, alternative fuels, public transport, renewable energies, local businesses including small shops, sustainability, what councils can do now, and education.
Liberal Democrats control more major cities than any other party and numerous towns as well so there are plenty of examples of initiatives from these councils to help the environment which I could quote. I was able to answer all the questions that came my way, get a few nods from the crowd, and slip in a few party policies.
I had three sparring partners on the panel. Firstly there was a spokesman from the Greens, a nice chap who made some good points. On environmental issues, we often agree with the Greens but we differ on the economic side of things.
Then there was a spokesman from UKIP who dominated the debate. Everyone soon lost patience with his argument that everything was the EU’s fault and that, in the face of crumbling small businesses and failing local transport, the government and councils are helpless,which seemed a cop-out to me. But it was good of him to come along and liven up the evening.
Finally, there was Ashok Rehal, the Faversham candidate from Labour. Another nice chap who performed well in a quiet sort of way.
What’s that I hear you say? No Tories? Well, the Faversham MP Hugh Robertson was invited but declined. That’s fair enough but he didn’t even send a representative like UKIP and the Greens did.
The Conservative blog’s own poll of their own candidates, when asked to list issues in order of importance, put the environment 19th out of 19. So when many members of the likely next government refuse to admit there even is an issue, then we are in trouble indeed. Understandable in difficult times but even the Lab-Con governments won't make a recession last for ever and we are talking about the long term future.
Despite that, I was pleased with how the debate went and am getting to improve these skills. Unfortunately two debates which I agreed to join (hosted by the business park and a church) have had to be cancelled so maybe others don’t find them so enjoyable.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
They're off!
Here at Millbank Tower in Westminster (where I work) there has been much excitement amongst the Tories downstairs in their headquarters at the sound of the starting pistol. Extra security (and extra heavies) are present and in the lift we overhear people talk about what they will say to ‘Dave’ when he visits today. The Tory press conferences are going to be taking place six floors underneath me.
But at last we’ve got lift off – and I’ve been checking the BBC and SKY election pages to check they have spelt my name right. We’re away – exciting stuff.
The polls, as always, make interesting reading. The Guardian have the Tories in a four point lead which, oddly, would leave Labour with most seats – yet another fault with our election system. But generally the Conservatives seem in a comfortable lead.
We’ve been campaigning in Sittingbourne and Sheppey for over two months but now we have the date and can accelerate accordingly. Let the games begin!
But at last we’ve got lift off – and I’ve been checking the BBC and SKY election pages to check they have spelt my name right. We’re away – exciting stuff.
The polls, as always, make interesting reading. The Guardian have the Tories in a four point lead which, oddly, would leave Labour with most seats – yet another fault with our election system. But generally the Conservatives seem in a comfortable lead.
We’ve been campaigning in Sittingbourne and Sheppey for over two months but now we have the date and can accelerate accordingly. Let the games begin!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The triumph of the 'won't vote' party
In our canvassing we have noticed a disturbing new trend. There are more and more people who have made a positive decision not to vote in the general election.
Cynicism and apathy are understandable given the whole series of MP scandals recently. And being insulted and pre-judged by people you have never met comes with the territory when you are running for elected office. But if I was a wealthy crook or a corrupt charlatan, as I have been called, I wouldn’t be spending hours of my own time out in cold evenings, knocking on doors or delivering leaflets.
The implication seems to be that by the very fact that you are running for parliament or for council, therefore you must be corrupt. End of.
I would ask these people two questions. Firstly, if people don’t vote, how will things change? You could elect people who have promised to open up politics and then ensure you hold them to account afterwards.
Or question two. If you don’t like a system where we elect our MPs and councillors, what alternative would you like? A dictatorship? Military government? One-party rule?
If turnout is below 50% for this election, maybe we should have some sort of national consultation on how to choose our politicians – or even a referendum on whether we should elect them (and what would the turnout be for that?)
But, seriously, we should certainly address this issue and ask how can we get a higher turnout in elections.
Cynicism and apathy are understandable given the whole series of MP scandals recently. And being insulted and pre-judged by people you have never met comes with the territory when you are running for elected office. But if I was a wealthy crook or a corrupt charlatan, as I have been called, I wouldn’t be spending hours of my own time out in cold evenings, knocking on doors or delivering leaflets.
The implication seems to be that by the very fact that you are running for parliament or for council, therefore you must be corrupt. End of.
I would ask these people two questions. Firstly, if people don’t vote, how will things change? You could elect people who have promised to open up politics and then ensure you hold them to account afterwards.
Or question two. If you don’t like a system where we elect our MPs and councillors, what alternative would you like? A dictatorship? Military government? One-party rule?
If turnout is below 50% for this election, maybe we should have some sort of national consultation on how to choose our politicians – or even a referendum on whether we should elect them (and what would the turnout be for that?)
But, seriously, we should certainly address this issue and ask how can we get a higher turnout in elections.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
RSPCA - Debate Report
Our second debate this week on the topic of animal welfare and organised by Mike from the RSPCA. This was a subject I knew very little about and much homework was necessary – hence the main benefit of the debate is that I know a lot more about animal welfare than I did previously. And, as I said in the discussion, I receive more emails from people on this topic than on any other subject.
There were about 25 people in the audience in the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne but all participated well and the flow was better and longer than last week’s debate. Wisely, Gordon told his agent to stay at home.
The questions covered a whole range of topics. We talked about fish, greyhounds, horse racing, performing animals, birds, dangerous dogs, food labelling, live exports, hunting, Europe, wind farms(!) and Boris’s Thames airport among others. To my surprise, animal testing didn’t come up – so I slipped it in myself as I had a point to make there.
I felt I started badly but did better as we went on. I was rather quiet as this is not a strong topic of mine but got through unscathed. My main triumph was scoring a point when I pointed out to Gordon that David Cameron plans to hold a free vote on repealing the Hunting Act and not amending it as Gordon maintained.
Despite this, Gordon dominated the evening and I thought did well again despite the fact that I disagreed with most of what he said. He came across confident and used his knowledge of the agricultural field.
Angela performed much better than last week making good points in a quiet way. The Labour government has a reasonable record on this topic via the Hunting Act and the Animal Welfare Act so she was on safer ground.
UKIP had planted a couple of questions on fish and wind farms. Oddly Ian’s prepared answers didn’t come across well. On other questions he spoke more naturally and from the heart and thus was much more impressive. There’s a lesson for us all there.
I didn’t plant a question. This was demonstrated when a fellow Lib Dem asked a question on bird protection from development in Sheppey which I didn’t have a clue how to answer.
Overall, another enjoyable evening but much more hard work than last week. I guess these skills develop with practice.
Next debate is on 13 April on the environment but this time in Faversham next door so I will be up against some different faces.
There were about 25 people in the audience in the Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne but all participated well and the flow was better and longer than last week’s debate. Wisely, Gordon told his agent to stay at home.
The questions covered a whole range of topics. We talked about fish, greyhounds, horse racing, performing animals, birds, dangerous dogs, food labelling, live exports, hunting, Europe, wind farms(!) and Boris’s Thames airport among others. To my surprise, animal testing didn’t come up – so I slipped it in myself as I had a point to make there.
I felt I started badly but did better as we went on. I was rather quiet as this is not a strong topic of mine but got through unscathed. My main triumph was scoring a point when I pointed out to Gordon that David Cameron plans to hold a free vote on repealing the Hunting Act and not amending it as Gordon maintained.
Despite this, Gordon dominated the evening and I thought did well again despite the fact that I disagreed with most of what he said. He came across confident and used his knowledge of the agricultural field.
Angela performed much better than last week making good points in a quiet way. The Labour government has a reasonable record on this topic via the Hunting Act and the Animal Welfare Act so she was on safer ground.
UKIP had planted a couple of questions on fish and wind farms. Oddly Ian’s prepared answers didn’t come across well. On other questions he spoke more naturally and from the heart and thus was much more impressive. There’s a lesson for us all there.
I didn’t plant a question. This was demonstrated when a fellow Lib Dem asked a question on bird protection from development in Sheppey which I didn’t have a clue how to answer.
Overall, another enjoyable evening but much more hard work than last week. I guess these skills develop with practice.
Next debate is on 13 April on the environment but this time in Faversham next door so I will be up against some different faces.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Federation of Small Businesses - debate report
Friday saw the first of our candidates’ debates, hosted by the Federation of Small Businesses. It was also the first time I had met my main fellow candidates for the constituency.
I was slightly apprehensive about this debate, as I would have preferred a format where they asked each of us questions individually, but in the end I quite enjoyed it and was sorry to see it brought to a close when there was still so much to say.
I had prepared by examining our policies (and those of the others) on all matters relating to small business – and reading the FSB manifesto and budget statement – but other topics came into the discussion as well. Inevitably the meeting descended into an argument over Europe but we also discussed town centre car parks, public transport, red tape, the skills of young people and planning. The national insurance rise, business rates and encouraging local enterprise did not come up.
Ian Davidson (UKIP) was clearly passionate about his cause and I discovered afterwards, that he had won a couple of votes for this. He also stood up well to Gordon before the debate as Gordon was unhappy about a UKIP leaflet.
Gordon Henderson (Conservative) was in forthright and bullish form. Initially he did well but his agent annoyed a lot of the audience by taking over the meeting to give Angela a hard time. (I didn’t want to use a plant – in case the plant asked questions I couldn’t answer!)
Sitting next to Gordon, I had a bit of difficulty getting a word in at first, but eventually got in my stride and scored a few points on public transport and on how we could make Europe work for us. I don’t think I did too badly for my first effort although maybe I was concentrating too much on getting our own view across rather than attacking those of my opponents.
Angela Harrison (Labour) was surprisingly poor. In her opening statement she essentially said she had no interest in small businesses – then instead of defending the government’s record or pointing out Labour’s ideas, she blamed civil servants for everything. I later heard that unfortunately Angela was unwell so maybe she will be back to form at the next debate.
I chatted to the audience afterwards and got mixed views on the debate – some felt there was not enough about small business discussed, others said it was good to see and hear the views of all the candidates.
Anyway, on the next debate. This is hosted by the RSPCA on the topic of animal welfare and takes place next Friday 26th.
I was slightly apprehensive about this debate, as I would have preferred a format where they asked each of us questions individually, but in the end I quite enjoyed it and was sorry to see it brought to a close when there was still so much to say.
I had prepared by examining our policies (and those of the others) on all matters relating to small business – and reading the FSB manifesto and budget statement – but other topics came into the discussion as well. Inevitably the meeting descended into an argument over Europe but we also discussed town centre car parks, public transport, red tape, the skills of young people and planning. The national insurance rise, business rates and encouraging local enterprise did not come up.
Ian Davidson (UKIP) was clearly passionate about his cause and I discovered afterwards, that he had won a couple of votes for this. He also stood up well to Gordon before the debate as Gordon was unhappy about a UKIP leaflet.
Gordon Henderson (Conservative) was in forthright and bullish form. Initially he did well but his agent annoyed a lot of the audience by taking over the meeting to give Angela a hard time. (I didn’t want to use a plant – in case the plant asked questions I couldn’t answer!)
Sitting next to Gordon, I had a bit of difficulty getting a word in at first, but eventually got in my stride and scored a few points on public transport and on how we could make Europe work for us. I don’t think I did too badly for my first effort although maybe I was concentrating too much on getting our own view across rather than attacking those of my opponents.
Angela Harrison (Labour) was surprisingly poor. In her opening statement she essentially said she had no interest in small businesses – then instead of defending the government’s record or pointing out Labour’s ideas, she blamed civil servants for everything. I later heard that unfortunately Angela was unwell so maybe she will be back to form at the next debate.
I chatted to the audience afterwards and got mixed views on the debate – some felt there was not enough about small business discussed, others said it was good to see and hear the views of all the candidates.
Anyway, on the next debate. This is hosted by the RSPCA on the topic of animal welfare and takes place next Friday 26th.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)