Telling Tales

It's always a joy to sit on a polling station shooting the breeze with a Lib Dem opposite number. Except that this year they aren't here. Most I'd guess are in neighbouring Withington trying to get the cancer-scare-candidate elected.

The fact I'm on my own seems to attract more attention from the electorate, some of whom are keen to share their thinking as they leave, if not always their polling number.

One of my first customers is one of the Lib Dems casting his own vote. His view is that I'm wasting my time here. In other words the count here will be a "weigh in" for my man and little change for the rest.

But he's wrong of course. We want the Council seats back sooner rather than later and maintaining our work rate in the ward is important.

I ask him whether he penned the nasty little attacking letter that appeared over his name in the Metro. As I had predicted they responded to my letter suggesting they "get over it" on a Standards Body case that had gone against them with a personal attack. And no substance. It looked like the work of their local leader.

But he was happy to claim it. But he's a proper old school Liberal. Properly anti-war and a regular on the local vigil. I don't mind. As he says it is all part of the rough and tumble. And their habit of attacking members of the public will surely back fire on them as they look like bullies, while my challenges to their councillors are an honourable part of the accountability process.

He's soon followed by a confused ranter who has voted Lib Dem over all kinds of things. The way the housing market's been going for one. The war for another.

Then I'm off to my next posting. Jenny takes over. I warn here that one of the polling station scrutineers told off my predecessor for collecting the polling numbers on the way in rather than the way out. People often volunteer them.

Later I hear the police make a visit.

At the next place I see several of the people I have canvassed. Including the couple who strongly support Tony Lloyd but can't be doing with Tony Blair. He has kept his promise and voted for Lloyd. She has done as expected and protested "but I'll be ringing him to get my drain fixed next week".

Then there is a ranter on the subject of "parking on the pavements, parking in the cycle lanes, parking near the corners" though I think from his body language amongst other voters that he's actually thinking about immigration.

He points out a car across the road with two wheels on the pavement and a Tony Lloyd sticker. I say it's not mine but I'll pass on the message.

One voter tells us he's voted for Marc (the Lib Dem) as he's known him since they were in the SDP together. And another asks me to report a dumped Lib Dem poster stake in his garden. I take the address and will pass it on.

Two hours flashes by. Voting has almost reached the one a minute mark. When that is achieved on average at all five stations there is a turn out of 4500 which is between 45 and 50%.

In fact there will be queues later and the rate can get to six times this. If the weather improves this ward will turn out 60% or more - similar to the national average - though Manchester Central was just 38% last time, and without Whalley Range it would have been in the 20s.

The return slips go back to base to be marked up and I hear that our busiest Polling Station has just one desk rather than the usual two. This one always has big queues at peak times. In 2003 I took Hilary Wainwright of Red Pepper here to help as however the election is going it is good to see so many people being responsible citizens.

When I get home the local paper has arrived. They have printed my letter about the cancer scare mongering. Good.