News from the Northern Hills
Later on I called into see Kathy who had been part of the nearly successful real Labour slate in the City Centre in the 2004 all outs.
We had trebled the turnout with an energetic campaign. The Lib Dem majority, which ought to have increased proportionally from about 100 votes (of only 550 cast that time) to 300 but was down to just 90. And the Tories were up from just over 100 to 250 plus. Many who had lent their vote to the Lib Dems had flown home to Maggie's party. Though strictly speaking these figures are all approximations as the ward boundary was quite different and the electorate smaller in the second case.
Best of all though poll tax rebel and disgraced ex-councillor Dobbo had bounced back to overtake Barrister Peter. Serial maverick Marc had a comfortable lead overall. He is the Lib Dem PPC in Manchester Central, his third campaign so far and in his third different constituency.
First we catch up on each other's campaigns. From starting together with pre-election leafleting in the Centre these had diverged and while I had been out and about most days canvassing, leafleting, blogging and postering Kathy had just done her first bit of real campaigning, joining Kath Fry in going up to Ramsbottom in the hills North of Bury to help David Chaytor's team.
Kathy is utterly dismissive of activists going and working in 'loyalist' marginals. We have to lose a few seats over this war she thinks, and better that is these people, Fitzsimons and Woolas for example, than Chaytor. He rebelled on three Iraq votes and has a total rebellion tally greater even than Tony Lloyd. Around 45 instances in all. But famously not including Top Up Fees. Something which I will cover in this blog before long.
Bury North includes urban-rural fringes and small and rather isolated small towns and villages. They are told that the hot issue is youth and community resources.
So what has been done since the last General on this ask Kathy and Kath. Actually plenty with 5-a-side courts and other diversions including voluntary youth organisations in each and every township. But still 60% of the youth don't engage and drink and create low level nuisance instead. It may be that ASBO talk hasn't helped much on this, though actual Orders have been pretty rare.
They are using the 'phone bank. And contrary to the Lib Dem blogger's scurrilous charge last week they aren't finding anyone who has opted out under TPS. The response is OK to good overall. They use new Labour "Voter iD" methods, not the old ways.
Then we talk about Horwich near the Reebok Stadium and Westhoughton. Kathy has recently moved up there to work for Bolton College and Kath works for that college part time too. The staff include a good few socialists. There is even a friday night socialist club in Bolton. The MP until dissolution was Ruth Kelly. I'm not sure whether Kathy is serious but she says workmates are saying they won't vote for her "because she talks like a man".
The BNP are standing in most of these constituencies. But there is action from them closer to home. Kathy shows me about 20 fascist leaflets. She has just been down her street collecting back this unwelcome material from her neighbours. I'm impressed.
There is a cartoon of a criminal with swagbag. Presumably to help voters recognise the candidates! And a torched car on the reverse. The BNP claim to be the only party of law and order. Platform is a crack down on crime and "politically correct interference" with the police; corporal punishment for petty criminals and vandals; death sentence for paedophiles, terrorists and premeditated murders with DNA evidence.
BNP hotline if you are interested (at £1 a minute) is 0906 553 2245. And you can send off for information, delivered in a plain envelope, on the campaign against the "Islamification of Britain".
Giving Kathy this Blog address she says she'll take a look and also feed through information and ideas.
She is not alone in thinking that Ming Campbell could find a place in our party. But when I say "but not Simon Hughes" she disagrees. But for me he is one of the leading dirty tricks people, securing his own election in Bermondsey with leaflets including one which asked voters "so which queen are you going to vote for?" under pictures of HRH and Peter Tatchell.
Kathy thinks some of ours are just as bad. But the example she gives, involving a personal enemy, seems pretty tame to me. It's pointing out the weakness of Lib Dem policies on crime and disorder with the messenger letting people think they were themselves a social worker.
We had trebled the turnout with an energetic campaign. The Lib Dem majority, which ought to have increased proportionally from about 100 votes (of only 550 cast that time) to 300 but was down to just 90. And the Tories were up from just over 100 to 250 plus. Many who had lent their vote to the Lib Dems had flown home to Maggie's party. Though strictly speaking these figures are all approximations as the ward boundary was quite different and the electorate smaller in the second case.
Best of all though poll tax rebel and disgraced ex-councillor Dobbo had bounced back to overtake Barrister Peter. Serial maverick Marc had a comfortable lead overall. He is the Lib Dem PPC in Manchester Central, his third campaign so far and in his third different constituency.
First we catch up on each other's campaigns. From starting together with pre-election leafleting in the Centre these had diverged and while I had been out and about most days canvassing, leafleting, blogging and postering Kathy had just done her first bit of real campaigning, joining Kath Fry in going up to Ramsbottom in the hills North of Bury to help David Chaytor's team.
Kathy is utterly dismissive of activists going and working in 'loyalist' marginals. We have to lose a few seats over this war she thinks, and better that is these people, Fitzsimons and Woolas for example, than Chaytor. He rebelled on three Iraq votes and has a total rebellion tally greater even than Tony Lloyd. Around 45 instances in all. But famously not including Top Up Fees. Something which I will cover in this blog before long.
Bury North includes urban-rural fringes and small and rather isolated small towns and villages. They are told that the hot issue is youth and community resources.
So what has been done since the last General on this ask Kathy and Kath. Actually plenty with 5-a-side courts and other diversions including voluntary youth organisations in each and every township. But still 60% of the youth don't engage and drink and create low level nuisance instead. It may be that ASBO talk hasn't helped much on this, though actual Orders have been pretty rare.
They are using the 'phone bank. And contrary to the Lib Dem blogger's scurrilous charge last week they aren't finding anyone who has opted out under TPS. The response is OK to good overall. They use new Labour "Voter iD" methods, not the old ways.
Then we talk about Horwich near the Reebok Stadium and Westhoughton. Kathy has recently moved up there to work for Bolton College and Kath works for that college part time too. The staff include a good few socialists. There is even a friday night socialist club in Bolton. The MP until dissolution was Ruth Kelly. I'm not sure whether Kathy is serious but she says workmates are saying they won't vote for her "because she talks like a man".
The BNP are standing in most of these constituencies. But there is action from them closer to home. Kathy shows me about 20 fascist leaflets. She has just been down her street collecting back this unwelcome material from her neighbours. I'm impressed.
There is a cartoon of a criminal with swagbag. Presumably to help voters recognise the candidates! And a torched car on the reverse. The BNP claim to be the only party of law and order. Platform is a crack down on crime and "politically correct interference" with the police; corporal punishment for petty criminals and vandals; death sentence for paedophiles, terrorists and premeditated murders with DNA evidence.
BNP hotline if you are interested (at £1 a minute) is 0906 553 2245. And you can send off for information, delivered in a plain envelope, on the campaign against the "Islamification of Britain".
Giving Kathy this Blog address she says she'll take a look and also feed through information and ideas.
She is not alone in thinking that Ming Campbell could find a place in our party. But when I say "but not Simon Hughes" she disagrees. But for me he is one of the leading dirty tricks people, securing his own election in Bermondsey with leaflets including one which asked voters "so which queen are you going to vote for?" under pictures of HRH and Peter Tatchell.
Kathy thinks some of ours are just as bad. But the example she gives, involving a personal enemy, seems pretty tame to me. It's pointing out the weakness of Lib Dem policies on crime and disorder with the messenger letting people think they were themselves a social worker.
posted by Chris Paul at 5:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home