Postcard from the Front

Just finished a 2-hour stint of telling at the polls, in my ultra-marginal division (supposedly a prime Labour target).  First observations:

• slow business, on a cold morning
• very few youngsters coming through (but they often vote in the evening)
• no Labour tellers out - which is v. unusual for a marginal: may be some new tactical use of troops, but flies in the face of conventional wisdom.  The again, what doesn't, these days?
• usual % of cheery folk, thumbs-up etc.  But a higher proportion of heads-down, grumpy, won't-give-their-polling-number than I recall before:  a more divisive atmosphere

Also had a stroppy young council employee / polling officer, told me I couldn't ask to see people's polling cards.  I told him I couldn't demand to see them; and that he should call the Returning Officer for further and better particulars.  (After 4 decades of doing this stuff, I know my rights.)

 Now off to cast some proxies.  Vote early, vote often ...

ND  

Update: polling officer v. confused about proxies - didn't even check who I was.  Democracy, eh?

Update 2: and the Labourites are not at the station either.  Some years, they've pestered the hell out of the train travellers.

And no eve-of-poll leaflet from them - you can't tackle a marginal without blanket effort (which is how we are defending it) ...  I think they may have given up on this one and fallen back to holding what they have.