Rightly or wrongly I get the impression not so many C@W commenters are Party activists. So here's a first-hand report for you
Quite by coincidence my local party was holding its annual 1-day local government conference this Saturday, so timing rather good for expanding the scope a bit. There was a big, big turnout - and you had to book your place long before the Announcement of St Teresa - including lots of youngsters, reversing a longstanding trend. (As mentioned before, recruiting has been way up since the Referendum, including heartening numbers of youth and "BAME".)
I have to report that morale was exceptionally high. Everyone said "no complacency: maybe the punters are hacked off, etc etc", but it was all very up-beat. When you read the anti-leadership bile in Labour Uncut, it is hard to imagine anything comparable in a Labour gathering right now. We fixed a second, ad hoc meeting for 10:00 am this morning (Sunday) to distribute leaflets for a 100%, whole-constituency delivery in a single day to get the show on the road. Around 150 folks showed up (for those of you not engaged in local stuff, that is Quite Big: I may post the photos later) and we duly delivered 100% today, it works out at about 200-240 leaflets each: piece of piss on a fine day.
Speaking for Mrs D & meself, out delivering we found several campaign posters already in people's windows (vs virtually none in 2015, when everyone was hull-down for anticipated nastiness), and the folk we encountered in their front gardens were very cheery. Nothing like Brenda from Bristol or any of that negativist BBC crap.
I realise there will be loads of you for whom the dusty details of doorstep politics are of little interest: but let me tell you, this has the best street-feel for the Tories in our London marginal seat since Boris first took on Ken (and, before that, since the GE of 1983). Given that everyone is on the alert for complacency - and I'd say Big Lynton Crosby probably has an eye on that, too - this might indeed be an utter rout.
ND
19 comments:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4437320/Blair-hints-run-Parliament-fight-Brexit.html
Blair takes my position. I am not a party activist because I am on the autism spectrum. I'm far more effective as an autonomous troll. The internet gives me time/space to compose my thoughts/responses.
In real life people think I'm thick and I have few (if any) friends.
effective as an autonomous troll
you certainly are, mate - always welcome here
each to his own
Cheers !
I'd lose votes monging out on the doorstep.
EK, sod getting on your train.
That photographer in the last post is saying ...
"I can see right through one ear and out the other!"
60ft of locomotive and two lockable doors between me and the travelling public. That's why I chose the job. (It didn't pay very well when I first started it.)
Rule 1
Stop at red signals
Rule 2
Avoid buffer stops
Rule 3
Avoid the back of other trains.
Simples.
Great news ND. I was briefly an activist where I lived before where I live now and enjoyed the occasional leaflet drop or canvass. Where I am now is so dominated by Labour that there is practically no Tory infrastructure. I allowed my membership to lapse a while back. Nobody even bothered to remind me to renew.
Never thought you would ever compare yourself to Blair, EK. :-)
"The internet gives me time/space to compose my thoughts/responses."
Or at least delete and re-write ;-)
Perhaps more interesting even than your marginal bit of London is that some polls are suggesting that the Tories might win some seats in Haggisland!
Blue - Oh to edit real life !
I was pondering: The only difference between me and Corbyn (aside politics) is that I KNOW I shouldn't be in politics.
One needs a distinct lack of self awareness. I don't have it.
:s
I'm not a fan of May but I hope she gets a thumping majority. On big issues - and Brexit is big - it's best that we know whom to hold responsible for success or failure. A continuation of her present thin majority would muddy the waters.
I also hope for a thumping win because I hope to see the destruction of the Labour Party. Then politics can revert to God's plan i.e. Whigs vs Tories.
As for Scotland: I think that falls into the category of oh FFS.
"it's best that we know whom to hold responsible for success or failure. A continuation of her present thin majority would muddy the waters.
I also hope for a thumping win because I hope to see the destruction of the Labour Party. Then politics can revert to God's plan i.e. Whigs vs Tories"
I knew there must be something we agree on!
As is common these days, the contest will be between The Conservatives and the BBC.
Mrs O'Blene and I are having a TV free couple of months, and just getting the headlines before we have to endure their 'reporters' opinions, which usually distort the facts anyway they can.
I used to quite like Nick Robinson, but now he's just an opposition character, and not doing a very good job at it, but that doesn't matter with our national broadcaster.
Well done on the leaflets Nick! Down here in leafy T.Wells, the only proper leaflets we're likely to see are the new growth on the sycamores and oaks in the churchyard...
(Actually, they get delivered by the postman in the villages, so we do get to see them eventually...)!
I want to see the conservative manifesto before deciding how enthusiastic I'll be about voting.
Seeing the headlines about raising taxes, keeping the 0.7% foreign aid budget and the energy price fixing nonsense doesn't inspire me with confidence - looking like it could well turn out to be a copy of a Labour manifesto from the early 2000's!
Street feel != votes
I remember the 92(?) major election where (my possibly bad memory) the BBC was expecting them to lose fairly comfortable on the polling day - and that was the street-feel too.
If any members of the spanish inquisition are standing in '17, I would be unsurprised if they won.
well I had a nice lady drop a Green leaflet to me yesterday - first time I have ever seen one!
let alone delivered in Michael Fallon's constituency.
"I used to quite like Nick Robinson, but now he's just an opposition character"
I think it was NR this morning on Today, interviewing Philip Davies of Shipley (Con) and the Women's Equality Party woman who's running against him. Davies pointed out that he was in favour of total and absolute equality before the law for men and women, and wondered why Women's Equality had a problem with that*. The women immediately went into ad-hominem mode, NR didn't pull her up or say "answer the question" as he'd have done were it Davies doing the ad-homs.
However NR is equally biased against Corbyn, but for different reasons.
* he also pointed out correctly that men are much more likely to be victims of violence than women are
Anon 10:41 am - they've already raised taxes by 7.5% for anyone who owns shares or runs their own company
Anon: " he also pointed out correctly that men are much more likely to be victims of violence than women are "
And nearly (within a point or two ) as likely to be a victim of domestic violence too.
And when you factor in the goading that a woman is capable of, domestic violence is 'even stevens'.
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