April campaigning

With the County Council elections coming up on May 4^th it’s the time of year for getting out and about on the campaign trail.

As all goes quiet at the County council and politicians take to the road, I thought that since I am not standing this time I would have some time off.   However, I have in fact found myself helping out  friends including Mary Evans in Clare, Colin Spence in Sudbury East and Waldingfield, and Adrian Osborne in Sudbury North. County Divisions are really quite large, amounting to around 7000 people or more, so getting round without help, particularly in rural areas is a challenge.

The weather has been lovely, the countryside just bursting into life, and, as a result, being out and about has been very enjoyable.  Four years ago it was still snowing (or so it seems in recollection) and was far less pleasant.   I spent an interesting morning working on behalf of Mary in Wickhambrook, a village that I did not know before, to the South West of Bury St Edmunds.   Many people were out at work, but those I spoke to were encouraging on the whole.  Mary has clearly made a good impression on her residents in the last four years.

On Friday I enjoyed driving around the edges of Acton and Great Waldingfield with Colin Spence.  We have done this run together now at least four times, visiting farms and other far flung habitations that other people don’t seem quite able to get to during the course of the campaign.  Our arrival is usually appreciated but it is important not to get too tied up in conversation or to take large dogs for granted.

The postal votes go out at the end of this week, and it is important to reach those who are signed up before they register their vote.   I will therefore be delivering in a targeted way around my home village of Acton, and also in Lavenham on behalf of Philip Mutton.

Philip is the Conservative Candidate for Cosford, which is the area that I currently represent.   I will be writing some more about him on the blog ahead of the election in three and a half weeks’ time.

Red Lodge By Election

 Congratulations to Robin Millar, pictured here with Councillor Sarah Stamp from Bury St Edmunds, on winning the  County Council by-election in Red Lodge near Newmarket.  Robin was 150 votes ahead of the next candidate.  The seat came vacant as a result of the resignation of Lisa Chambers who has moved on to pastures new.  Robin is a Forest Heath District Councillor, and I have worked with him on the West Suffolk Community Safety Partnership of which he is Chairman.  I am now looking forward to working with him once again.

I went over to the Division last week to deliver a few leaflets and enjoyed the time I spent in and around Newmarket.  It was lovely to see the horses setting out for the gallops, walking in single file along the roads of the town and disappearing up the hill in the morning mist.

I was dispatched to do some delivering in the very pretty village of Dalham, pictured below.

Although home to only around 150 adults, the village contains some 50 listed buildings. It is spread along a picturesque waterway which wends its way between the houses.  Of particular interest in the village is a Victorian malting kiln.  These used to be ubiquitous in Suffolk but now only two survive.  The village also has an attractive church that dates from the 14th Century and a fine 18th Century Hall which is one story smaller than it was due to a fire in the 1950's.  It was once owned by the Rhodes family, which, of course, has been in the news recently.   The village has an interesting website, here and I certainly hope to return to take another look at Dalham when not being required to deliver envelopes!

Victorian malting kiln

A quiet election day

Aldham Church, a polling station today.

Election days always seem to be rather quiet, unless one is a candidate of course.

Happily this year I am not, and so I have had a relatively quiet day, although did have a coffee this morning with some members of Lavenham Parish Council to catch up on some outstanding issues. I took a minute or two to try the new Co-op in the village, and was pleased to find a lot of local produce on sale, and some unusual things to buy.  I wish the venture well, but am concerned that the village may not have the capacity for a third grocery store.

I have not participated to any extent in the South Cosford by-election as I feel a little uneasy undertaking political activity in an area where I am a sitting councillor.  Once elected I aim to represent everyone regardless of their political views, so turning up on the doorstep with a blue rosette feels uncomfortable to me.

News from the battlefront this afternoon was that the turnout was depressingly low.  I suppose that one way of expressing dislike of the EU is simply not to vote.....and I know that there are people who are taking this view.

If you haven't yet voted....do consider popping out and doing so.  You know it makes sense.

May Day....time to vote and then to get out into the garden!

At last the sun has some warmth in it, which is great for polling day tomorrow. 

I hope that lots of readers of the blog will come out and vote and that the majority of you will do the 'Right Thing' and vote Conservative.

Once the voting is done it could well be time to turn your attention to the garden.  To help all gardeners I would like to pass on the following offer from Suffolk County Council:-

'Next week is national Compost Awareness Week and as a thank you to residents for recycling their organic waste, we are giving away compost at 8 sites around Suffolk. We will be promoting our fantastic new offers for home compost bins and food digesters, many of which are drastically subsidised to help reduce the 40,000 tonnes of organic waste that is sent to landfill in Suffolk every year. 

To find out more about the dates, times and venues and the great new offers click here. Compost available on the day while stocks last!'

No cold calling

One of the five pledges for Suffolk that has been made by the Conservatives ahead of the County Council elections in early May is to promote No Cold Calling Zones across the County.

These schemes are sponsored and organised by Trading Standards, and are really aimed at preventing unsolicited calls on the doorstep from tradesmen.  Signage displayed both in the street and on residents’ properties makes it clear that the neighbourhood has decided that it does not want to receive door to door uninvited callers offering goods and services.

Making an unsolicited call in a No Cold Calling Zone is not in itself a criminal offence,  However, Trading Standards will contact the perpetrator if asked to do so and request that residents’ wishes are respected.

Setting up such a scheme must be done through the County Council with co-operation from the Police and residents ‘groups such as neighbourhood watch.  In general a Zone will only be established if most of the people in the area agree.  An application form to start the process is available on the County Council website.

  

No Cold Calling Zone schemes have been proved to reduce crime, particularly distraction burglaries and fraud.  In addition, where a scheme has been adopted, people find it easier to say no if, despite the scheme, unwanted goods or services are offered to them on the doorstep.

One or two residents have commented that by knocking on their doors during the current campaign we are not practicing what we are preaching!  Personally, I do not knock on a door where someone is displaying a ‘No cold calling’ sign. In fact however No Cold Calling Zones do not apply to those who are undertaking political campaigning, religious groups, people carrying out market research, or people collecting for charity.

Front line fables

It’s April, the cruellest month according to the poet, and so it must be time to don my walking boots and range widely across South Suffolk with my little basket containing leaflets and envelopes, clip boards and the like.  The aim of course is to find someone, anyone, at home; then to try to engage them in conversation, or, at least, to thrust material into their hands in the hope that they might actually read some of it before it heads for the recycling bin.

 It is no accident that electioneering is called a ‘campaign’, and the usual pitfalls and perils of the process soon begin to reveal themselves.

The struggle with letter boxes, for example, becomes no easier as the years pass. This year I already have two grazed fingers where metal plates have sprung back savagely, catching my retreating hand.  I have also developed a nice case of ‘knockers knuckle’, the result of the upper rim of the letter box catching the top of my hand as I repeatedly try to force flimsy paperwork between the impenetrable brushes of the modern ‘draught proof’ state of the art receptacle.

Dogs and other creatures continue to perplex.   Is that wagging tail a sign of welcome or aggression?  What is that white shape lurking just the other side of the door? Is it a Staffie with sharp teeth waiting for unwary fingers to poke through?  Geese have cackled enthusiastically at several farms, but none so far has proved dangerous. The worst injury that I have sustained so far this year is a thump on the leg from a protective bantam cockerel that crept up behind me in Preston St Mary.

People on the doorstep remain astonishingly tolerant on the whole, and I was made particularly welcome in some homes during the recent sub-zero temperatures.  Too many cups of coffee slow you down however, and three doorsteps a morning are simply not enough!

One thing that I have observed is a marked increase in marital disharmony in the political opinion department.    ‘I can’t speak for him’ or ‘her’ is a much repeated mantra this time around.  At one house in Hitcham I was told by one spouse who opened the door that no one in the household voted, only to be waylaid by the other, round the back of the garage, desperate to join in clandestine political debate.

All in all going '  out on the stump’ remains a uniquely interesting experience, as full of moments of joy as of despair. I am quite happy however that it only comes around every couple of years!

This is the 800th post since my blog started in February 2007.

Please say yes to the merger with Mid Suffolk

I can't believe that I still seem to be on the campaign trail!

Nick and I spent the morning with colleagues from Babergh delivering leaflets in Long Melford in support of a yes vote in the Local Poll on Babergh's plans to merge with Mid Suffolk District Council, details of which should hit your doormat very shortly.

As many people know the two councils are already combining as many of their business activities as possible in order to save money and protect services.  However in order to reduce the number of councillors and complete a full merger of the councils we need a mandate from the public.

The merger has benefits over and above the purely financial, although the savings of at least £400,000 per year that would be achieved is around 10 percent of Babergh's share of council tax, and cannot be dismissed as insignificant.

There has been a good deal of nonsense talked about what would happen to us all in the event of a merger, and also about the relative financial strength of both councils. I do not propose to address these here and now.  However if anyone has any questions when they have received their voting packs I will be very happy to answer them either by phone, by e mail,  or here on the blog.

Election 2011 Round Up

The defining feature of the election campaign this time has been the complete absence of the opposition.

We have done the rounds as usual, trying to speak to as many residents of the Ward as possible, but we appear have been the only politicians disturbing your peace on this occasion.

As far as I know not even a leaflet has been received from the Liberal Democrat or UKIP candidates.

Although I deplore the lack of debate that this implies, it has made little difference to the campaign.    I hope that all of you have had at least one leaflet from Frank Lawrenson and me. (If not, and you would like one, send me an e mail before Thursday lunchtime and I will deliver one to you.)

So what have we found on the doorstep?

Firstly Conservative support, while perhaps a little more muted due to concerns about the effect of the Liberal Democrats on the coalition, seems to be holding up well.  Most people appear to realise that the difficult decisions that the Government has made with regard to cuts are founded in necessity rather than ideology.

Secondly, ‘events’ and ‘personalities’ at the County Council do not appear to be adversely affecting residents’ opinion of Babergh in general and Babergh Councillors in particular.  Perhaps we have been spared by recent developments.  These have seen some moderation of the perceived enthusiasm of the County to close or divest themselves of virtually everything!

Thirdly, more people have confessed to wishing to vote Labour this time.  This supports the trend nationally that sees Labour coming back into favour at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.  A bit unfortunate therefore that the Labour candidates in Waldingfield Ward didn’t make it off the starting block!

Finally I have met about five people, out of what must be hundreds, who support the Alternative Vote.

It will be interesting to see if these trends are mirrored across the District, and in the case of AV, across the country.

The weather has made this campaign a relative pleasure.  Other positives have been the warm welcome received from many people of whatever political persuasion, a terrific collection of dogs and other four legged friends, and wonderful spring gardens.

And the negatives?  Hardly any, but as I get older,  I do find people who vote Labour, live in large houses, and are rude somewhat trying.

Whatever your particular political proclivity, don’t forget to come out and vote on Thursday.  You have two votes for two seats at Babergh.