On my way home from work tonight I met one of Norwich Labour's hardest workers, standing on the street corner visably fuming. Little did I know that the Boundary Review had been leaked and if Guido is correct then Labour have a lot to worry about. My angry socialist friend went off on one about a "coalition stitch-up" which sees all the Tory and LibDem held seats get safer and thus more difficult for Labour to gain. Here in Norwich South there are no changes whatsoever, but Labour's view is that no matter where the boundaries took him Simon Wright is a (political) dead-man walking.
Not so long ago Labour held 3 seats in Norfolk - Norwich N, Norwich S and Yarmouth - with an outside chance of NW Norfolk in a very good year (e.g. 1997). In that year they also got very close to taking SW Norfolk it should be remembered but never actually achieved it.
And now what? With Great Yarmouth taking in the staunchly Conservative areas around the southern tip of North Norfolk, Tory MP Brandon Lewis will have even more blue-backing rural areas to "overwhelm" the Labour folk of GY. In addition, those changes would make North Norfolk safer for LibDem Norman Lamb - and even more so when the strongly LibDem (at General Elections, anyway) area around Fakenham are put back in the seat. That leaves just Norwich North where Chloe Smith will see her majority soar as she takes safe Tory territories of Drayton and Taverham back into her patch.
Despite changes, the new "Kings Lynn" seat is still well out of reach for Labour and "South Norfolk", "Broadland & Dereham" and "Thetford & Swaffham" equally so.
So for Labour their best case scenario of a Norfolk with 3 winnable seats is shot to pieces - just 1 (Norwich S) remains.
My Labour friend seethed and sweated. He believed that this is all a stitch-up to guarantee coalition seats in the county and deny Labour representation. Labour, I am told, will fight this all the way. He argued that Norfolk will have 8 safe seats and 1 marginal and so politics could become very boring indeed in the future.
We'll see. But this Boundary decision, I sense, is far from over.
Showing posts with label general election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general election. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, May 07, 2010
The People's Verdict
So, it's Hung. As I type the backroom deals are going on, Brown is clinging to the doorknocker at No.10 and policies are being dumped and adapted. There is uncertainty but nobody can say that people weren't informed about the problems of Hung Parliaments; this is clearly the will of the people, so we have to deal with that. I think that Mr Cameron's challenge to the LibDems to join him in coalition was bold, statesmanlike and grasps the nettle; we may have a government by Monday if everything goes as planned. Personally I'd prefer a minority Conservative government with a "memorandum of understanding" - maybe one with the LibDems and another with smaller groups such as the Unionists.
I can't deny that I am not gutted with the result - both nationally and locally. There were great moments (Opik and Smith, for example) but the results lacked consistency and too many marginals were missed by the Tories. However we ought to remember that Cameron had an electoral mountain to climb; gaining 100 seats is an impressive achievement and he did score more votes than Blair did in '97. Brown, although hammered in the popular vote, did actually hold up the number of Labour seats rather well. It was probably Mr Clegg who had the most disappointing night, seeing "Cleggmania" (whatever that is, or was) disappear to the point where they actually lost seats at the election. Quite why the opinion poll ratings never translated into votes could be the subject of a whole dissertation! Where were the RATM facebook group when you needed them?
Locally the LibDems picked up Norwich South with a wafer thin 310 vote majority. I have to say that the City scene will miss Mr Clarke's knowledge and experience - Mr Wright has large shoes to fill. Nothing in our canvassing - or that of Labour or the Greens - picked up this LibDem "surge" and so it came as a genuine surprise to most, if not all, of the people at the count. The LibDems had thrown a large amount of money, locally and nationally, at this campaign and done so in a largely negative and aggressive way. Clearly, it paid off.
I loved the campaign and thought we managed to strike a positive and constructive note. It was great that policies were once again the order of the day in British politics. I also thought the turnout was a great sign too; for once, the British people realised the solution to a discredited political system is by voting for change rather than staying away from the polling booths. Polling Day itself was great fun and zoomed by; we had probably the largest and most effective polling day operation in Norwich South for a generation.
And although the LibDems walked away with the prize, I believe that was much for us to be pleased about. We were the only major party to have a swing to us (yes, the LibDems won the seat despite getting a lower vote share than in 05), and managed to put on nearly 3,000 extra votes since the last election. That's 3,000 real people who now voted Conservative that didn't a few years back; we put over 1/3rd onto our vote. This is the first time that the Tory vote has risen in Norwich South since the 1980s. And with the 3 parties now all 3,000 votes apart the next election is shaping up to be a cracking contest - "a 3 way marginal with a strong Green interest", as one TV presenter put it!
I learnt 2 major things in this campaign; firstly that debate is still at the heart of our political system and people are ready to engage about ideas. The second, sadly, is that negative campaigning really does work. I thought this campaign would show that people want to vote for something rather than against something else, but I am not sure I can. The LibDems proved that with enough money and enough negativity you can achieve success. I hope this isn't a lesson other parties learn but I am sure they will.
So, I wish Simon Wright well in his new important position and hope he is able to stand up and speak up effectivly for our City. My feeling is that - like the LibDem Council here in Norwich - he will have one chance at this, because local people don't tolerate failure from their MP. Mr Wright has a largely supportive media and goodwill in the City; we look forward to seeing what difference he can make.
And as this is my last General Election post, a final word of thanks to the hundreds of people who helped in various different ways to my campaign. It is a great honour to think that people give freely of their time and energy to see me elected to parliament. And a big thank you to the c.11,000 local people who voted for me - some will have never voted Tory before, some will be stalwarts and some will be friends who put their trust in me when their political beliefs said otherwise. To each and every one of them, I say "thank you"l you faith in me made the whole campaign worthwhile. Roll on 2014?
I can't deny that I am not gutted with the result - both nationally and locally. There were great moments (Opik and Smith, for example) but the results lacked consistency and too many marginals were missed by the Tories. However we ought to remember that Cameron had an electoral mountain to climb; gaining 100 seats is an impressive achievement and he did score more votes than Blair did in '97. Brown, although hammered in the popular vote, did actually hold up the number of Labour seats rather well. It was probably Mr Clegg who had the most disappointing night, seeing "Cleggmania" (whatever that is, or was) disappear to the point where they actually lost seats at the election. Quite why the opinion poll ratings never translated into votes could be the subject of a whole dissertation! Where were the RATM facebook group when you needed them?
Locally the LibDems picked up Norwich South with a wafer thin 310 vote majority. I have to say that the City scene will miss Mr Clarke's knowledge and experience - Mr Wright has large shoes to fill. Nothing in our canvassing - or that of Labour or the Greens - picked up this LibDem "surge" and so it came as a genuine surprise to most, if not all, of the people at the count. The LibDems had thrown a large amount of money, locally and nationally, at this campaign and done so in a largely negative and aggressive way. Clearly, it paid off.
I loved the campaign and thought we managed to strike a positive and constructive note. It was great that policies were once again the order of the day in British politics. I also thought the turnout was a great sign too; for once, the British people realised the solution to a discredited political system is by voting for change rather than staying away from the polling booths. Polling Day itself was great fun and zoomed by; we had probably the largest and most effective polling day operation in Norwich South for a generation.
And although the LibDems walked away with the prize, I believe that was much for us to be pleased about. We were the only major party to have a swing to us (yes, the LibDems won the seat despite getting a lower vote share than in 05), and managed to put on nearly 3,000 extra votes since the last election. That's 3,000 real people who now voted Conservative that didn't a few years back; we put over 1/3rd onto our vote. This is the first time that the Tory vote has risen in Norwich South since the 1980s. And with the 3 parties now all 3,000 votes apart the next election is shaping up to be a cracking contest - "a 3 way marginal with a strong Green interest", as one TV presenter put it!
I learnt 2 major things in this campaign; firstly that debate is still at the heart of our political system and people are ready to engage about ideas. The second, sadly, is that negative campaigning really does work. I thought this campaign would show that people want to vote for something rather than against something else, but I am not sure I can. The LibDems proved that with enough money and enough negativity you can achieve success. I hope this isn't a lesson other parties learn but I am sure they will.
So, I wish Simon Wright well in his new important position and hope he is able to stand up and speak up effectivly for our City. My feeling is that - like the LibDem Council here in Norwich - he will have one chance at this, because local people don't tolerate failure from their MP. Mr Wright has a largely supportive media and goodwill in the City; we look forward to seeing what difference he can make.
And as this is my last General Election post, a final word of thanks to the hundreds of people who helped in various different ways to my campaign. It is a great honour to think that people give freely of their time and energy to see me elected to parliament. And a big thank you to the c.11,000 local people who voted for me - some will have never voted Tory before, some will be stalwarts and some will be friends who put their trust in me when their political beliefs said otherwise. To each and every one of them, I say "thank you"l you faith in me made the whole campaign worthwhile. Roll on 2014?
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Making Your Mind Up!
Today is polling day and the day when you get to have your say on the future of this country.
I think Mr Cameron ought to be proud of a positive campaign based on hope and optimism for the future, and giving us the change we need - reforming politics, mending our society and fixing the economy.
It feels as if Labour have had nothing positive to say in this whole campaign - and if you don't believe me, compare the front pages of the pro-Labour Mirror and pro-Tory Sun today.
We can have better - an MP who listens, keeps in touch and has the real-life experience to know what life in Norwich South is all about and not another career politican.
If all the people we have met in this campaign who have said they'll vote Conservative do so then we can win.
But whatever you do, go out there today ... and vote.
I think Mr Cameron ought to be proud of a positive campaign based on hope and optimism for the future, and giving us the change we need - reforming politics, mending our society and fixing the economy.
It feels as if Labour have had nothing positive to say in this whole campaign - and if you don't believe me, compare the front pages of the pro-Labour Mirror and pro-Tory Sun today.
We can have better - an MP who listens, keeps in touch and has the real-life experience to know what life in Norwich South is all about and not another career politican.
If all the people we have met in this campaign who have said they'll vote Conservative do so then we can win.
But whatever you do, go out there today ... and vote.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Campaign Diary - Day One
This is my third General Election here in Norwich South - two as candidate and one as agent. I've done three sets of "flying starts" leaflets, launches and campaigns. This has been by far the best and has left us with a real feeling this election is there for us to win. I'll explain why in more detail.
Today has been a very funny day because we've all had to react to an event that we've known has been coming for a long time! Whilst the nation was glued to its TV watching the Prime Ministerial car shuttling back and forth from the palace, the wheels of the election campaign were springing into action.
At the request of a resident I spent early this morning at a residential home meeting having morning tea with people and discussing the day to come. Many people thought the election has been called given the posters that had gone up and the leaflets coming through doors. I got an angry lady saying she was put off voting LibDem by the sheer weight of material they had posted to her.
From there and into the office to rally party workers and get things ready for the day. It may sound a little silly but putting on my rosette - with my name emblazoned on it - it felt like everything was coming together. We then send teams off leafleting - and I went with a group to the City Centre.
Walking around with a Tory rosette on has been hard in past - people yelling "Labour" at you (or worse) hasn't always been pleasant. But today things felt very different. People smiled, said hello, willingly took leaflets and chatted about their views. I went out this evening with teams in Eaton and Town Close and must have spoken to a lot of people - I know all PPCs say this, but genuinely everyone I spoke to was either a committed Conservative voter or seriously considering it.
I also did my first major interviews of the day - for the BBC, local radio and the newspapers. Clearly they all believe that Norwich South will be an interesting seat and could go any which way.
As we waited for the launch in the Forum I was approached by 2 people - one, a lady from Bowthorpe who said she was keen for me to win and offered to display a poster and deliver for us. The second was the former owner of a shop I used to frequent as a student who wished me luck and said I would be getting his vote as a small business owner.
The Andrew Lansley launch was a great event, well attended and in the very modern setting of The Forum. Mr Lansley is - hopefully - Cameron's Health Secretary and I can see why. Attendees were very impressed particularly with his detail and grasp of policy. He certainly sent activists away with a spring in their step, back out onto the streets.
The feeling tonight out delivering leaflets was one of great relief that it had all started. I agreed - but this constituency is going to be very tightly fought and I do hope we can keep it clean and positive. Let's engage people with politics and debate ideas.
So why does this campaign feel so different? There is such a positive feeling on the streets, the doorsteps and around the City. Norwich has a spring in its step - and so does the Conservative campaign.
Today has been a very funny day because we've all had to react to an event that we've known has been coming for a long time! Whilst the nation was glued to its TV watching the Prime Ministerial car shuttling back and forth from the palace, the wheels of the election campaign were springing into action.
At the request of a resident I spent early this morning at a residential home meeting having morning tea with people and discussing the day to come. Many people thought the election has been called given the posters that had gone up and the leaflets coming through doors. I got an angry lady saying she was put off voting LibDem by the sheer weight of material they had posted to her.
From there and into the office to rally party workers and get things ready for the day. It may sound a little silly but putting on my rosette - with my name emblazoned on it - it felt like everything was coming together. We then send teams off leafleting - and I went with a group to the City Centre.
Walking around with a Tory rosette on has been hard in past - people yelling "Labour" at you (or worse) hasn't always been pleasant. But today things felt very different. People smiled, said hello, willingly took leaflets and chatted about their views. I went out this evening with teams in Eaton and Town Close and must have spoken to a lot of people - I know all PPCs say this, but genuinely everyone I spoke to was either a committed Conservative voter or seriously considering it.
I also did my first major interviews of the day - for the BBC, local radio and the newspapers. Clearly they all believe that Norwich South will be an interesting seat and could go any which way.
As we waited for the launch in the Forum I was approached by 2 people - one, a lady from Bowthorpe who said she was keen for me to win and offered to display a poster and deliver for us. The second was the former owner of a shop I used to frequent as a student who wished me luck and said I would be getting his vote as a small business owner.
The Andrew Lansley launch was a great event, well attended and in the very modern setting of The Forum. Mr Lansley is - hopefully - Cameron's Health Secretary and I can see why. Attendees were very impressed particularly with his detail and grasp of policy. He certainly sent activists away with a spring in their step, back out onto the streets.
The feeling tonight out delivering leaflets was one of great relief that it had all started. I agreed - but this constituency is going to be very tightly fought and I do hope we can keep it clean and positive. Let's engage people with politics and debate ideas.
As of moments ago the LibDem candidate has yet to respond to the "clean campaign pledge" - I hope he finds time, as Clarke and Ramsay have done, to respond on Day Two.
So why does this campaign feel so different? There is such a positive feeling on the streets, the doorsteps and around the City. Norwich has a spring in its step - and so does the Conservative campaign.
Clean Campaigning
Chloe Smith and Antony Little, the two Norwich Conservative candidates at the General Election, have written today to all declared candidates in the city asking for their support in a clean campaign pledge. This follows the model of the clean campaign pledge signed by Chloe Smith and the Green Party candidate, Rupert Read, at last year's Norwich North by-election.
Chloe Smith comments: "The pledge, updated for this election, promotes honest and positive campaigning. Unfortunately, at the 2009 by-election, the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates refused to sign it. I hope all Norwich candidates in the General Election will join me and Antony Little in signing it now."
Antony Little adds: "As this parliament comes to an end, the issue of honesty is very important to people we meet on the doorstep - but that honesty covers the way in which we campaign as well as expenses. People want us to be positive, set out our policies and not spend all our time making personal attacks and predicting who can or cannot win this election. Chloe and I are putting honesty and positive politcs at the heart of this campaign. "
We, the undersigned, pledge in the forthcoming General Election campaign:
· To show by our actions that politics need not be a dirty game, but can be a clean and positive activity, engaged in genuinely for the good of all.
· To tell the truth about what we stand for and have achieved, and about what others stand for and have achieved.
· To refrain from personal attacks.
· Not to mislead the public about who is doing well and about who is likely to win in this election.
· To make only honest and reasonable promises.
· To fight a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that concern the people of Norwich North.
· To be honest about public spending, and not to scaremonger in ways that may frighten the most vulnerable members of our society, such as children and elderly people.
· To take money only from organisations and individuals whose motives in giving us money we do not have reason to suspect, and who do not ask for influence over party policy in return.
· And to sign up to transparency on MPs' expenses.
We encourage voters:
· To expect from us decent and honest behaviour, as candidates and as their elected representatives.
· To ask Parties operating in this election whether they have signed up to the Pledge or not, and, if not, to encourage them to do so.
· And to help us enforce this Pledge, by reporting truthfully to us and to the media any apparent breaches of it.
UPDATE: Charles Clarke agrees to sign, Adrian Ramsay suggests a watered down version, no word from Simon Wright
Chloe Smith comments: "The pledge, updated for this election, promotes honest and positive campaigning. Unfortunately, at the 2009 by-election, the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates refused to sign it. I hope all Norwich candidates in the General Election will join me and Antony Little in signing it now."
Antony Little adds: "As this parliament comes to an end, the issue of honesty is very important to people we meet on the doorstep - but that honesty covers the way in which we campaign as well as expenses. People want us to be positive, set out our policies and not spend all our time making personal attacks and predicting who can or cannot win this election. Chloe and I are putting honesty and positive politcs at the heart of this campaign. "
We, the undersigned, pledge in the forthcoming General Election campaign:
· To show by our actions that politics need not be a dirty game, but can be a clean and positive activity, engaged in genuinely for the good of all.
· To tell the truth about what we stand for and have achieved, and about what others stand for and have achieved.
· To refrain from personal attacks.
· Not to mislead the public about who is doing well and about who is likely to win in this election.
· To make only honest and reasonable promises.
· To fight a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that concern the people of Norwich North.
· To be honest about public spending, and not to scaremonger in ways that may frighten the most vulnerable members of our society, such as children and elderly people.
· To take money only from organisations and individuals whose motives in giving us money we do not have reason to suspect, and who do not ask for influence over party policy in return.
· And to sign up to transparency on MPs' expenses.
We encourage voters:
· To expect from us decent and honest behaviour, as candidates and as their elected representatives.
· To ask Parties operating in this election whether they have signed up to the Pledge or not, and, if not, to encourage them to do so.
· And to help us enforce this Pledge, by reporting truthfully to us and to the media any apparent breaches of it.
UPDATE: Charles Clarke agrees to sign, Adrian Ramsay suggests a watered down version, no word from Simon Wright
General Election Campaign Launched
The Conservatives have launched their campaign to see Chloe Smith re-elected as MP for Norwich North and Antony Little elected as MP for Norwich South.
The pair will be joined at The Forum by Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley – the man whom David Cameron has said will be the new Health Secretary in a Conservative government. Mr Lansley, himself an East Anglian Conservative MP, will be holding a half hour meeting with a small group of Norwich older voters, from a range of local organisations, to take their soundings on Conservative proposals to provide dignity for senior citizens.
The races here in Norwich are likely to be amongst the most fascinating in the country, after Chloe Smith dramatically snatched the Norwich North seat from Labour at a by-election last July. And all the signs point to a photo finish in Norwich South where local teacher and city Councillor Antony Little is taking on disgraced former Minister Charles Clarke.
Chloe Smith said: “I have spoken in Norwich and Parliament about the need for plans that add up on social care. It is a vital issue and one on which we all have a real choice at the general election. In Norwich, this election is about picking two local champions with a record of action and a promise of more. It is a choice: five more years of Gordon Brown or the kind of energy and leadership we need, locally and nationally."
Antony Little said: “At last we have a date for the General Election and a chance for people to vote for change in our country. Locally people tell us that Labour have run their course and they want fresh leadership from an MP with the real-life experience to make a difference. It can’t be right that in a city like Norwich we still have real pockets of poverty, fear of crime and overstretched public services. We plan to run a positive campaign outlining why people should vote for us as Conservative candidates based on our plans for the future.”
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Clarke votes for longer holidays
Charles Clarke must now justify why, yesterday, he voted for an extended 12 day holiday for MPs in February instead of the usual 7. Conservative MPs opposed the move which was only supported by Labour MPs.
MPs have ridiculously long holidays and to extend them is a slap in the face for British people who pay their wages. This government has a long list of problems to tackle, mostly of their making, such as reducing the deficit, tackling anti-social behaviour and improving the NHS. Surely this must keep them busy at Westminster?
But no, Charles Clarke and his Labour friends vote for more holiday instead of tackling our problems.
David Cameron has set out that the Conservatives will, in necessary, work through the summer holidays after being elected to get a grip on the problems created by Labour.
Mr Clarke's move is cynical - if Labour doesn't have anything to do, maybe they ought to get round to calling a General Election?
MPs have ridiculously long holidays and to extend them is a slap in the face for British people who pay their wages. This government has a long list of problems to tackle, mostly of their making, such as reducing the deficit, tackling anti-social behaviour and improving the NHS. Surely this must keep them busy at Westminster?
But no, Charles Clarke and his Labour friends vote for more holiday instead of tackling our problems.
David Cameron has set out that the Conservatives will, in necessary, work through the summer holidays after being elected to get a grip on the problems created by Labour.
Mr Clarke's move is cynical - if Labour doesn't have anything to do, maybe they ought to get round to calling a General Election?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Save General Election Night
One thing where both Charles Clarke and I agree - don't worry, there aren't many like this - is the issue of the when to count votes. We both greatly support the idea that we continue to count on a Thursday after votes have been cast and an evening of high-drama on live TV. The idea that people would be at work and miss things like Michael Portillo or Ed Balls losing their seats (oh hang on, the second one hasn't happened yet) would be awful. What about the security of the ballot boxes? What about the seemless transfer of power in a democracy?
The cross-party alliance running the campaign put it better than I could ... After reading this, go onto Facebook and sign up to the campaign.
This is more than just a political anorak obsession, it is actually important ...
Here are a few reasons why you might support the campaign:
*We want to know who won as soon as possible*
Quite simply, once the polling stations have closed we want to know the result as soon as possible. And this argument holds on two levels. Firstly, on a constituency level, but more significantly on a national level: if the general election is going to be close, then it is possible that if lots of seats are not counting until Friday - especially marginals - then we will not know who is going to be Prime Minister, form the Government etc until Friday lunchtime.
*It would be a backward step*
In the digital 24-hour media age when we are used to getting news quicker than ever before, it would be a backward step to delay election counts. If anything, we should be seeking to persuade the few constituencies which historically count on a Friday to bring their counts forward to Thursday night.
*Fewer people will be able to follow the results coming in*
Sitting around the television into the early hours is an election night ritual for people across the land, many of whom do not perhaps follow politics closely on a daily basis. But if there are fewer results to announce - and the potential of not getting a national result to boot - they are less likely to bother tuning in and when the remaining constituencies declare and the national result becomes apparent on the Friday, anyone at work is not going to be able to witness the climax of the electoral process.
*The TV coverage of the election will suffer*
The outside broadcasts (OBs) at counts up and down the country have provided many a memorable moment over they years, and they bring the results to life. However, the reason why broadcasters are able to provide such a variety of OBs is that there is no other call on the satellite trucks and outside broadcast units during the night. If there were an increasing number of counts on Friday during the day, fewer of them would have cameras present, thereby reducing the ability of the broadcasters to give full coverage of the results.
*It's a tradition, dammit*
The traditional British way of doing elections is to have people come out to vote and then count the ballot papers immediately afterwards. It's how we do it and what we're used to.
*Threats to the integrity of the ballot*
Security is a less important concern, but worth a mention all the same. Some of us might be just a little uncomfortable about increasing millions of ballot papers being left overnight before being counted.
HOW YOU CAN HELP Please contact your local council (most likely the electoral registration department or Chief Executive's office) to discover when the votes for your constituency at the general election will be counted.
The cross-party alliance running the campaign put it better than I could ... After reading this, go onto Facebook and sign up to the campaign.
This is more than just a political anorak obsession, it is actually important ...
Here are a few reasons why you might support the campaign:
*We want to know who won as soon as possible*
Quite simply, once the polling stations have closed we want to know the result as soon as possible. And this argument holds on two levels. Firstly, on a constituency level, but more significantly on a national level: if the general election is going to be close, then it is possible that if lots of seats are not counting until Friday - especially marginals - then we will not know who is going to be Prime Minister, form the Government etc until Friday lunchtime.
*It would be a backward step*
In the digital 24-hour media age when we are used to getting news quicker than ever before, it would be a backward step to delay election counts. If anything, we should be seeking to persuade the few constituencies which historically count on a Friday to bring their counts forward to Thursday night.
*Fewer people will be able to follow the results coming in*
Sitting around the television into the early hours is an election night ritual for people across the land, many of whom do not perhaps follow politics closely on a daily basis. But if there are fewer results to announce - and the potential of not getting a national result to boot - they are less likely to bother tuning in and when the remaining constituencies declare and the national result becomes apparent on the Friday, anyone at work is not going to be able to witness the climax of the electoral process.
*The TV coverage of the election will suffer*
The outside broadcasts (OBs) at counts up and down the country have provided many a memorable moment over they years, and they bring the results to life. However, the reason why broadcasters are able to provide such a variety of OBs is that there is no other call on the satellite trucks and outside broadcast units during the night. If there were an increasing number of counts on Friday during the day, fewer of them would have cameras present, thereby reducing the ability of the broadcasters to give full coverage of the results.
*It's a tradition, dammit*
The traditional British way of doing elections is to have people come out to vote and then count the ballot papers immediately afterwards. It's how we do it and what we're used to.
*Threats to the integrity of the ballot*
Security is a less important concern, but worth a mention all the same. Some of us might be just a little uncomfortable about increasing millions of ballot papers being left overnight before being counted.
HOW YOU CAN HELP Please contact your local council (most likely the electoral registration department or Chief Executive's office) to discover when the votes for your constituency at the general election will be counted.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Daily Telegraph: Clarke facing "concerted Tory push"
The Daily Telegraph today reports that Charles Clarke is coming under increasing political pressure and faces the reality of losing his Norwich South seat next time becuase of a "concerted Tory push". We are certainly getting a lot of traction in the campaign and the media are really noticing how many shadow ministerial we are getting, the volume of leaflets going out and the professional nature of the campaign.
It says:
Other Labour big hitters who face a concerted Tory push are Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, whose 3,000 majority in Norwich South looks shaky after Chloe Smith won the neighbouring seat in last month’s by-election to become the youngest Tory MP for 30 years.
Interestingly the LibDems are at war - both locally and the blogosphere - about the decision to target Norwich South with the utter lack of support for their candidate is symptomatic of this. Most independent commentators are now saying they could be the wooden spoon winners coming fourth in Norwich South.
It says:
Other Labour big hitters who face a concerted Tory push are Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, whose 3,000 majority in Norwich South looks shaky after Chloe Smith won the neighbouring seat in last month’s by-election to become the youngest Tory MP for 30 years.
Interestingly the LibDems are at war - both locally and the blogosphere - about the decision to target Norwich South with the utter lack of support for their candidate is symptomatic of this. Most independent commentators are now saying they could be the wooden spoon winners coming fourth in Norwich South.
Don't do it, Eric!
According to the DT's Andrew Pierce, reported all over the place, the Conservatives are going to pile in extra resources to target Labour's big hitters in seats that the party has a chance of winning. With the swing that the party achieved in Norwich North we could have a very good chance of removing John Denham in Southampton, Jack Straw in Blackburn and Ben Bradshaw in Exter. Also rather appealing is the thought of winning the Yorkshire seat of Balls and Darling's Edinburgh Berth.
I have to admit that I worry about having a so-called decapitation strategy. I warned against it when the LibDems tried it before the '05 election and - as predicted by this blog - it came across as being nasty, neative and malicious. I think for the same reasons we ought to avoid it too.
If these MPs fall as the Tory tidalwave crosses the country then so be it, but to pour in resources to try and defeat big hitters would come across as being arrogant and wrong. Don't do it Eric!
I have to admit that I worry about having a so-called decapitation strategy. I warned against it when the LibDems tried it before the '05 election and - as predicted by this blog - it came across as being nasty, neative and malicious. I think for the same reasons we ought to avoid it too.
If these MPs fall as the Tory tidalwave crosses the country then so be it, but to pour in resources to try and defeat big hitters would come across as being arrogant and wrong. Don't do it Eric!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Gordon Brown is weak, manipulative and totally unfit to lead our country
Gordon Brown and his team have been spinning for weeks now that there will be an early poll, to capitalise on Labour's poll lead. This was meant to fighten the Tories and galvanise the Labour Party. It was meant to create rushed Tory policy announcements that could be destroyed.
Now, suddenly, Brown has managed to unite the Tories and deliver Cameron the best conference he could have hoped for. The Conservatives surge in the first round of polls, take a strong lead in the marginals and now lead Labour in the national polls.
So having led his troops half way up the hill, Brown was left in a lose-lose position. If he had the election he would probably have lost his majority. If he didn't call the election then people would question Brown's position.
This is all a problem of Brown's making. He could have stopped all these poll rumours weeks or even months ago. He didn't do so and he's left himself wide open to Cameron attacks.
Cameron's reaction (which, unlike Labour, gave interviews to all channels instead of just the BBC) was brilliantly done - statesmanlike, not too gloaty and with just a touch of anger. Cameron has been dominating the news with this statement too.
Brown was too overconfident and has made a huge political error. He has shown himself to be weak, manipulative and ultimately unfit to lead our country. I wonder, now, if Brown could ever beat Cameron - this year, next year or beyond?
Now, suddenly, Brown has managed to unite the Tories and deliver Cameron the best conference he could have hoped for. The Conservatives surge in the first round of polls, take a strong lead in the marginals and now lead Labour in the national polls.
So having led his troops half way up the hill, Brown was left in a lose-lose position. If he had the election he would probably have lost his majority. If he didn't call the election then people would question Brown's position.
This is all a problem of Brown's making. He could have stopped all these poll rumours weeks or even months ago. He didn't do so and he's left himself wide open to Cameron attacks.
Cameron's reaction (which, unlike Labour, gave interviews to all channels instead of just the BBC) was brilliantly done - statesmanlike, not too gloaty and with just a touch of anger. Cameron has been dominating the news with this statement too.
Brown was too overconfident and has made a huge political error. He has shown himself to be weak, manipulative and ultimately unfit to lead our country. I wonder, now, if Brown could ever beat Cameron - this year, next year or beyond?
Monday, May 07, 2007
The 1997 General Election
I am ashamed to say that I have had the BBC Parliament replay of the 1997 election result on as background noise for most of the day. Well, 14 hours of it, actually. And in between council work, school marking, playing with Emily and feeding Olivia I have caught up on the results from 10 years ago. This was my first election where not only could I vote (and, yes, I voted for Uxbridge's Tory candidate Sir Michael Shersby) but also the first where I showed an interest in campaigning. I remember sitting at home, as an 18 year old, wondering what ever happened to the goold old days.
I look back now and think how totally unexpected that landslide was. After voting, I spent polling day in Hayes & Harlington where the Tories were defending a 56 vote majority (yes, fifty six). That seat went Labour by 13,000 votes (Leadership challenger John McDonnell won it) whilst my own seat of Uxbridge was only just held by 748 votes. Phew! If only I had known, I might have been a few miles north!
A few things have made me think today. First of all, how little has changed with the BBC coverage (Paxo, Dimbleby exactly the same!) but how dated it all looks. The hairstyles, the clothes and the standard of political debate. The Tories spoke in English, rather than soundbite, which was refreshing.
The second thing was knowing the outcomes - knowing what happened to people. Knowing how few of Labour's warm words were to delivered upon.
I wonder how those people jumping up at down at the Royal Albert Hall to repeated versions of "Things Can Only Get Better" feel now?
Surprisingly I felt the Tories took their pounded with good grace and humour. Watching Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, Education Secretary Gillian Shepherd and Trade Secretary Iain Laing being open and honest with interviwers felt good ... "I'm not in government," said Portillo to Paxo, "so the good thing is I don't have to answer questions like that!" Most Tories thought that our length of time in office was the big factor behind the 14% swing against us. How simple it seemed then, and how different now.
Interesting that Dimbleby picked out Hague for leader on the night - and how little interest was played in Clarke, Lilley and Shepherd (all of whom stood).
But most of all, I got the warm sense of somebody who was right all along. I knew, even at aged 18, that this government would turn into the mess it is today. As all those people cheered out John Major, they really thought Blair would save the nation. When they look at the NHS, schools, crime, immigration, levels of tax or pensions I wonder what they think now?
How wrong they were. But why did the nation have to go through 10 years of Blairism to find out? Easy - because we, as a party, drove them to it. We are to blame and we must never drive people into voting Labour again. Cameron, take note.
I look back now and think how totally unexpected that landslide was. After voting, I spent polling day in Hayes & Harlington where the Tories were defending a 56 vote majority (yes, fifty six). That seat went Labour by 13,000 votes (Leadership challenger John McDonnell won it) whilst my own seat of Uxbridge was only just held by 748 votes. Phew! If only I had known, I might have been a few miles north!
A few things have made me think today. First of all, how little has changed with the BBC coverage (Paxo, Dimbleby exactly the same!) but how dated it all looks. The hairstyles, the clothes and the standard of political debate. The Tories spoke in English, rather than soundbite, which was refreshing.
The second thing was knowing the outcomes - knowing what happened to people. Knowing how few of Labour's warm words were to delivered upon.
I wonder how those people jumping up at down at the Royal Albert Hall to repeated versions of "Things Can Only Get Better" feel now?
Surprisingly I felt the Tories took their pounded with good grace and humour. Watching Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, Education Secretary Gillian Shepherd and Trade Secretary Iain Laing being open and honest with interviwers felt good ... "I'm not in government," said Portillo to Paxo, "so the good thing is I don't have to answer questions like that!" Most Tories thought that our length of time in office was the big factor behind the 14% swing against us. How simple it seemed then, and how different now.
Interesting that Dimbleby picked out Hague for leader on the night - and how little interest was played in Clarke, Lilley and Shepherd (all of whom stood).
But most of all, I got the warm sense of somebody who was right all along. I knew, even at aged 18, that this government would turn into the mess it is today. As all those people cheered out John Major, they really thought Blair would save the nation. When they look at the NHS, schools, crime, immigration, levels of tax or pensions I wonder what they think now?
How wrong they were. But why did the nation have to go through 10 years of Blairism to find out? Easy - because we, as a party, drove them to it. We are to blame and we must never drive people into voting Labour again. Cameron, take note.
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