In this by-election atmosphere, I am reminded of one of those war-stories from the campaign trail that any activist, of any party, begins to collect before long.
I rang on the door of someone who had been marked as a definite Conservative the previous year… The person who answered the door was of the, errm, fuller figured variety.
Me: Hi, Mr Smith (pause) err, Mrs Smith. I’m calling on behalf of Jo Bloggs, your Conservative candidate in the council elections next Thursday.
Gruff voice: Right.
Me: (Thinks: Oh, maybe I was right the first time) Errm. I was wondering how you might be voting on Thursday.
Gruff: Well, I haven’t decided…
We didn’t win that ward, though I’m relieved to say (for once) that we missed it by more than one vote.
2nd May, 2008 at 8:25 am
[...] So we have taken councils like Harlow - not a bad barometer, Bury – a good foothold in Greater Manchester, Southampton - where yours truly spent the odd student night out (OK, so no political significance there), and Maidstone, which has been NOC for donkey’s years, and was something of a near miss for us last year, and not just because of my efforts. [...]