Canvassing in Bilton

We had a rather different canvassing team out on Saturday supporting Rugby Borough Council candidate, Lisa Parker.
It was great to be accompanied by a touch of glamour on this occasion!

Ballot Papers

I discovered a consequence of the leaders debates the other day when a resident told me that they had received their postal votes. The ballot paper for the local election was included, as the one for Rugby's MP with my name amongst those on it. However, the resident wanted to know why there wasnt one with Mr Brown, Mr Cameron & Mr Cleggs name on it.

Candidate Debates

One of the things that has surprised me most about this election campaign is the amount of public participation in it. In this election I have so far taken part in two debates at local schools, two organised by local community groups and a further three organised by the business community-and there are still more happening! These events have been extremely positive for me, and I have enjoyed hearing the concerns of the people of rugby during this campaign. The Chair of New Bilton Community Association is doing her best to keep me to time!

Wearing out shoe leather

In an election campaign every candidate makes claims about the numbers of miles walked canvassing and delivering leaflets. I dropped two pairs of shoes in to Claire at JS Cobblers in Rugby town centre this week having been worn out already in just the first two weeks!

Shadow Justice Minister in Rugby.

Last week I was able to welcome our Shadow Justice Minister, Dominic Grieve to Rugby. We visited the Brownsover area and spoke to business owners where a scheme is in place aimed at tackling anti social behaviour and helping young people to put their lives back on track. This kind of community work is what the Big Society is all about, and I am glad to see Rugby taking the lead on this issue.

The Internet Election?

Much has been made about the new campaigning techniques facilitated by the internet, used extensively by Obama in 2008 and being taken up by the parties here. I have been runnig this blog for a good while and have recently revamped my website. However, I've long felt that there is no real alternative to meeting potential voters face to face and so I was interested to read this article by Andrew Rawnsley in today's Observer in which he concludes "success will belong to those who...pound the pavements, knock on doors and get among voters in the real (world)." As a candidate for three and a quarter years, with twice weekly phone or doorstep canvassing sessions, out on doorsteps every Saturday, making visits to local businesses and organisations, and with a regular town centre stall, I reckon to have made contact with around 15,000 of the voters in Rugby constituency - an average of 90 voters a week over 165 weeks. Over that time I've spoken with people about a huge variety of issues both local and national and I've seen attitudes change as the news agenda has changed. I believe this contact with people individually has given me a good understanding of people's priorities and what they expect from their next MP.

Question Time 2, 3, 4, 5, ...

Already I have taken part in two local question time events with other candidates as well as appearing together on the local BBC Politics Show. The most recent event was earlier this week and organised by a new business breakfast group "Rugby does Breakfast" when we were once again put through our paces by an informed audience. Already there are 3 other such events in my diary between now & the expected election date and I know of a couple of others still to fix a date. As a candidate in 2005 elsewhere, I debated with my opponents only twice during the entire campaign and on each occasion the candidate from one of the parties failed to show at all! Does this mean that there will be increased interest in this years election? I hope so, although I am finding that the proportion of electors saying that they won't vote is as high as previously. I do think that those intending to vote are more interested in calling to account those who seek to respresent them, with more detailed questioning. Looks like a lively few weeks ahead.

Meeting Eric

Yesterday I joined candidates and helpers at the opening of a new telephone campaigning facility for use during the coming General Election campaign. Honours were provided by Party Chairman, Eric Pickes who gave a stirring speech to get us all fired up. As someone who ran a business based on telephone sales, I am very aware of the opportunities provided by using the phone, particularly at a time of weather such as that at the moment when it is difficult to contact people on the doorstep.

Lessons from Obama

I enjoyed Saturday nights fly on the wall documentary which followed Obama's campaign from when he was running well behind Hilary Clinton for the Democratic nomination right to his success on election night . It showed how different the US process is from our own and how much more pushy and upfront their style is. However there were some lessons to be learnt for a campaign such as my own, not least the appreciation of volunteers. The slogan written in large type on the wall of a campaign office "We love our volunteers" hit home as did Obama's message: "A change of Government won't come if you wait for someone else to do it"! In other words, sign up for www.myconservatives.com now!

Canvassing in Wolvey

We had a great team out in Wolvey meeting residents with our survey on Saturday morning. Unfortunately our team photo obliterated the fantastic "Inspector Morse" Jag that was parked in the square!

Election night campaign

As someone who has attended their fair share of counts over recent years, I too am concerned about moves to push the count back to a Friday morning, as was the case at the recent County Council elections here in Rugby. There's nothing quite like the atmosphere at the end of election day waiting for results to come in, both locally and across the country. I'm pleased ConservativeHome are campaigning to retain the tradition. Details here.

Eastlands Delivery Team

We increased the size of our team delivering leaflets this week by the addition of more 6th formers wanting to help us make a change. As the General Election gets closer, people are contacting us to offer help which will be of great assistance when the time comes. There is a real mood that Labour's time is now up and real support for the realistic approach we are putting forward to dealing with the country's problems - especially among the young.

Bulkington part 2

I took a video camera with me to Rwanda but unfortunately it was faulty. I replaced it on my return and my first chance to use it was yesterday. I hope to make more use of it on the blog as we approach the General Election.

Bulkington Team

Back to regular campaigning, today I had a team of sixth formers & students between school & University out with me delivering leaflets and talking to residents in Bulkington.

Norwich North

Great result; well done Chloe, although there will be a long wait to take the seat in Parliament due to the extra long recess. This result is really encouraging for the candidates with me here in Rwanda with whom I've already struck up some great friendships.

Norwich North By-Election

I am fortunate to have two sixth form leavers working on my campaign at the moment. Both have just finished their A Levels and intend studying Politics at University. Ian is taking a year out and so will be with us throught the run up to the General Election while Tom is starting Uni this September. On Thursday we went to help in Chloe Smith's campaign in Norwich North following the decision of the sitting Labour MP to stand down in the wake of the expenses scandal. We delivered hundreds of leaflets and it was good for Ian & Tom to see a highly professional campaign with plenty of people out on the streets.

Rugby's Euro Result

This was again pretty satisfactory from our point of view, taking 32% of the vote compared to 15% for Labour and 13% for the Lib Dems. However, the main beneficiary of the protest vote here was UKIP with more than either Labour or the Lib Dems at 20%. In the Council election the protest vote went to the Green Party, picking up 12% whereas in the Euros they achieved 7%. In addition to a protest, the UKIP vote showed increasing scepticism about Europe and its institutions generally. This strengthening view makes the re-alignment of Party Groupings in the European Parliament more urgent. You can expect to hear more about this is coming weeks and months as we Conservatives link up with others who have a more independent view of how the EU should work.

Election results

Excellent results from Friday's count of voting in the Warwickshire County Council election. Our best hope was to win four seats from Labour and we did exactly that. We fully expected to win in Admirals Ward where Peter Butlin has been a Borough Councillor for five years and is well-known. We knew that there was a good chance in Lawford & New Bilton where we lost a by-election a year ago by just one vote and since then Claire Watson has continued to work hard. We thought that it might be more difficult to win in Brownsover, but a combination of the work that Carolyn Robbins has been doing there over many years, the effort during the election campaign by her and Helen Walton and the move against Labour were enough to secure a victory for both of our candidates here. All four new councillors will make an impact in Warwick. In other wards we increased majorities, taking 42% of the total vote. The Lib Dems on 21% took a larger proportion than Labour. I think it is safe to say we are looking forward to the General Election whenever it may be!

Euro Campaign

With the furore over MP's expenses the election to the European Parliament has been less prominent than it should be. Our call for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty serious and deserves to be heard more widely. Yesterday two of our Euro candidates, Malcolm Harbour and Mark Spelman were with us in Rugby to put their case. We visited Brownsover ward, where things are looking very hopeful for our County Council candidates, Helen Walton and Carolyn Robbins before walking through the town centre where plenty of people wanted to talk to us. The Euro candidate's battlebus certainly made an impact with many saying to us how good it was to see a strong Conservative presence.

A week to go!

With election day in the County Council and Euro elections less than a week away our activity has been increasing. We have enjoyed the support of a number of our front bench team, the latest being Caroline Spelman who joined us in Long Lawford with candidate Claire Watson and her fellow councillor, Sally Bragg. My impression is that some of the anger about expenses has now abated and people are starting to think seriously about who to vote for. Many remain disenchanted about politicians generally and wont vote and so turnout will be low. There is little enthusiasm for Labour and so I wasn't surprised to see the poll that showed more support for UKIP than Labour for the Euro election. The toughest job in politics right now must be that of the Get Out The Vote man for the Labour Party!