In this section
- Section Home
- Privacy Policy
- Get a postal vote

Archive
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006

Blog RSS feed

RSS Feeds

- News RSS
- Blog RSS
- Gallery RSS

Funny Old Business

The pace of the run-up to the General Election, the stress for all concerned, and the possibility of drama increases by the day. Locally, candidates of all parties are in frenetic last-minute planning – drafting leaflets, ordering posters, planning the campaign itself. Interest groups are worrying about whether or not to hold hustings meetings, the Council is worried about postal votes, military electoral registration, and where (and when) to hold the count.

Nationally, what at one time looked like a pretty comfortable lead in the polls for David Cameron’s Conservatives seems to have narrowed to a possible hung parliament, with quite possibly Labour being the largest party. Mr Cameron’s dramatic (and unscripted) 45 minute speech in Brighton last weekend seems to have gone down well in most quarters, and may well lead to a renewed improvement in the polls. It had echoes of Margaret Thatcher’s “You turn if you want to, the lady’s not for turning” speech which, by coincidence was also heard in Brighton. In particular, David set his face against any panicky “lurch to the right” which many on the dinner party circuit enjoin us all to do. “Its all about the EU, immigration, law and order,” they declaim, urging the Tories to go to lengths to knock spots of the Labour Government.

That approach is to ignore the polling realities that in order to form a Government, the Tories have to appeal to a very wide swathe of people, many of whom will not have voted Conservative for a long time, some of whom never. My experience on doorsteps is that they are not at all concerned about the EU and immigration. They are worried about their jobs and the economy; they are worried about their family and the health, education, long-term care and other services they need: and they are worried about ‘Politics’ not just Parliamentary sleaze, but also such things as the relationship between Parliament and Government, voting systems, the role of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, the power of the media and so on. The people want radical solutions to the problems in the economy; they want decent services for their families at an affordable tax rate; and they want honesty, far-sightedness and transparency in our political machinery. David Cameron is intent on delivering those things, even if that is to the disappointment of some who would much rather see us take the fight to the enemy on good old battle grounds such as immigration and law and order.

From a personal standpoint, I have always found in the four general elections I have fought as a candidate, that no matter what the circumstances, stress mounts for the last month or two. Not only are the candidate and his volunteers and helpers increasingly under pressure to get things organised and seek to maximise their vote, which inevitably leads to stresses and strains and disagreements over tactics; but as a candidate there is a very strange personal stress too. Of course I hope that my party will win the election and form a Government. Of course I hope that the people of North Wiltshire will prove overall to have been relatively satisfied with what I have done on their behalf over 13 years. It would of course be a personal disappointment if not. But more than all of that, the incumbent at least, is fighting to save his job. It is an odd thought that at least theoretically one might find oneself without an occupation a month or two from now, at least in some cases through no fault of the candidate’s own. It’s a funny old business, politics.

Tags: