We had identified a potential candidate, but concerns were raised as to whether he could get ten signatures.[Bangs head against wall]. Doesn't that just about tell you all you need to know about the LibDems? They don't even have the gumption to knock on doors, explain the importance of beating the BNP and get the requisite signatures. I dare say it would have taken an hour at most. To be fair to Alan, he blames it all on his local party (brave man) who he calls "complacent". As PPC, you'd have thought he might have shown a lead and gone and got the signatures himself.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sevenoaks LibDems Give Up on Pavement Politics
You just have the love the Liberal Democrats. Flicking through my latest copy of Liberator Magazine (a sort of GQ for beards & sandals) I came across a piece by Alan Bullion, the LibDem PPC for Sevenoaks. I've known Alan for a few years. He lives near me and used to work at the New Statesman. He's a nice guy, but his attempts to explain away the LibDems' failure to stand in the Sevenoaks council by-election recently (which the BNP won) take some beating...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Getting ten signatures is a doddle. it takes less than an hour.
You just go out armed with a register and knock on doors. Chances are you will get more than one per door.
Lib Dems have form for this
BNP only come 2nd in one council ward in Liverpool. Guess what ward the LD's dont put a candidate up in?
disgraceful
and they are the ruling admistration!
check this out :
http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?XXR=0&ID=111&RPID=705913
Agree with Simon. Half an hour on a good day. Particularly, ahem, for a cause as noble and clear as liberal Democracy. The Greens messed up too didn't they?
Good to see that you have not repated the "where the BNP votes are from" of Sevenoaks analysis for Manchester Moston. Where on first glance they seem to be from the Tories. But where - as in Sevenoaks they are mostly from habitual NVs.
Mr Gardner - 'you'll get more than one per door' - do you mean postal votes?
Blimey - hard democratic work.
At the last general election Iwondered where all the LibDem flyers were. On the way into town I noticed about a dozen in a 50 yard area. Don't tell me he lives round here I said. I am sorry to say upon checking, He did.
The Liberal Democrats might as well give up nationwide as they are doomed - DOOMED at the next election! Clegg is the invisible man when he is not imatating NEIL KINNOCK!
Hope you do the Late Night Phone in!
I remeber Midnight Caller Gary Cole IIRC was the host on it!
Though didn't Gary have some Nutters to deal with some time? I think he had been a cop before and moved onto to something else.
In what way are they complacent.
Complacently stupid to let the BNP gain a foothold in a local council.
I simply knock on doors until I get ten signatures. Most people don't even ask which party I am standing for. In Hull, we contest every election. If we can do it, so can the LibDems in Kent. What a pathetic excuse.
When I worked for the Tory Party in Halifax in the early 90s, one of our blokes stood in an unwinnable ward. He didn't know ten people there and he knew he was an unknown. He went door-to-door, covering up the title on the nomination form and sayng "Would you like to sign this anti-Poll Tax petition ?" He got ten signatures in no time.
That's the way to do it ! And he supported the Poll Tax wholeheartedly.
This reminds me of a council by-election I worked on a few years back. The experienced LibDem incumbent told the rather naive tory she was having difficulty getting the last signature and in the interests of fair play would he mind signing. He decided the decent thing was to agree. I suspect you can guess the punchline: a Focus leaflet claiming the tory had endorsed her.
I don't recall ever going door to door for signatures. that's what you have members for.
I have cold called for signatures on the roughest of council estates - no members, no pledges. One ward took two weekends to get the 10.
This was a constiuency with a 20K Labour majority, 100% Labour Councillors, only 50 Tory members (most ancient) and only 5 activists.
I am astonished that the LD PPC did not go and do it himself!
Post a Comment