Saturday, April 10, 2010

Campaign Diary - Day Five

Well today turned out to be as hectic as I predicted yesterday! we started the day bright and early in the Bowthorpe Main Centre, handing out leaflets and holding an "NHS surgery" (of the political sort) to see what people's views on health are. We got a gerat response, and it is interesting that the vast majority of people have a better personal experience of the NHS than they percieve as the national picture. There was a lot of talk about Tory plans to make cancer drugs more widely available. In addition the other thing that came across strongly was that people felt there was a lot of waste in the NHS that could be redirected back into frontline services.

From Bowthorpe to the doorsteps of Eaton Village where the talk moved from health to the political system. The Tory posters here clearly outnumbering all other parties it was a good reception. We met quite a lot of LibDem voters who want change and Gordon Brown out of Downing Street so are voting Conservative this time. Many people said they would be concerned by a hung pariament and that Clegg would prop up Labour (with good reasoning- the LibDems have done little else but back Labour against the Conservatives this week, to little avail).

From Eaton we went to the Anglia Square shopping centre for the seocnd half of the NHyeS day of action. We met a team working on Chloe Smith's campaign and also by South Norfolk's Tory Leader John Fuller. It was very much little good old fashioned soap-box politics (JM would be proud). Plenty of debate, some genuine disagreement and people really wanting to engage. The eprson who sticks in my mind was a young Mum who said she was furious with Labour for their scare stories about Tory policies on Sure Start. Parties shouldn't ever do this to people.

And then, finally, over to Town Close and another batch of deliveries. The shoe leather took a pounding but it was worth it to get the last of the leaflets out here. And tonight another mamouth session of replying to constituents letters and emails - am enjoying every minute.

And tomorrow - well, tomorrow belongs to my three lovely young ladies!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you have to have your face put on the posters Little?

One can barely stand to visit one's parents now!

Yours,

The Liberal in Downham.

Anonymous said...

You must have been in a different Eaton Village, Antony. It's a fair spread of boards between all but Labour around here!

Red Star said...

I have to congratulate you on the return to soap box politics. I would like to see more of this myself and perhaps this would make people more engaged in politics generally and the political process.

Praise over with - now I will get down to what I wanted to say. As you know I have been one of the main critics of Tory policy on this blog and do identify myself towards the left in a lot of regards.
I want to say something about Surestart centres.

You accuse Labour of misinformation but people have a right to be worried about Surestart centres. People depend on all forms of public services, myself included. I value public services and believe it has been a post war British tradition that sadly historically was attacked by both Thatcher and Major. Cameron had to drag the Conservative party heels kicking from blatant indifference towards state intervention and public services. Hague & IDS embodied the old logic. It is in the public consciousness that public services was under attacked in the past and may well be in the future. The question where political differences come into it is whom do you believe the attack will originate? I feel its proponents on the Right who salivate at the prospect of cuts. Look at Norfolk County Council for evidence of this in operation.

Is it rational for people to be worried about public service cuts? = my answer is simple. YES IT BLOODY WELL IS.