/>Hello from Yorkshire!
We’re now in the home straight of the election campaign and things are getting interesting. Here Yorkshire based Young Fabian Mike Harrison finds that people still sometimes forget all the things Labour has achieved in Government.
Campaigning is going pretty well in God’s Own County. In Brigg and Goole, Labour’s candidate and MP since 1997, Ian Cawsey (of MP4 fame), is proving a valuable asset to the Party’s campaign to hold the seat. He is extremely popular in the traditional Labour areas and even Conservative supporters, and, on the QT, even Conservative members, are saying they will be voting for him.
Whilst out in Goole North Ward on Saturday with a group of young Labour members sporting ‘Vote Cawsey…Cawsey’s Worth It!’ t-shirts, the response was either positive or undecided. It was a scorching day and the mood was upbeat, people wanted to engage and freely recognised that the new £19million Goole High School, the new £3million health centre, and the 2 £1.5million Surestart Children’s Centres were down to Labour’s investment in communities.
Those who were undecided found us willing to listen to their issues and in many cases were glad we had come round to talk to them about their concerns.
An illustrative little story from Saturday’s campaign:
An elderly lady challenged us about our t-shirts ‘Do you think its right that we are paying for those t-shirts when the country is bankrupt?’ Our response was gentile – we explained that we have paid for our own t-shirts. I went on to talk about the winter fuel allowance, the free bus pass, free TV-licence and the pension rate being linked back to earnings – to which she replied ‘what’s that got to do with Labour?’ She genuinely thought these weren’t born from Labour’s policies, which backs up my long held belief that we haven’t been good at shouting about what our policies have meant in reality.
I’m also campaigning in Keighley, a Labour held seat with just over 5,500 majority. We have a great candidate in Jane Thomas – a wonderful example of where the Labour Party is and should be. She has been campaigning hard in Keighley for over a year which is paying off as name recognition is noticeable. On the doorstep Labour’s support is holding up even in her opponents neighbourhood.
Overall, people do have genuine concerns and questions they want answers to. They’re also, and quite surprisingly, more willing to engage in debate and discussion. More than at the last election and a lot more than I would have expected given the parliamentary crisis over the last year. Although I am of a particular political persuasion I think this election offers a far more healthier opportunity of democratic participation then previous elections.
There is a lot more work to do between now an polling day and so far I’m nervously enjoying it!
This post was also published on Labourlist
