Campaign diary: An early round
Woke up just after five am today and caught the early morning chorus, of the benign chattering class: a true symphony of bird song. Such divine presence would lift the heart of any potential voter!
Five hours later I find the local Labour party campaign office in surprising upbeat mood. No shortage of volunteers of every race , creed, and age . I heard suggested that the glossy, extremely well-funded leaflet campaign of Tory candidate Jane Ellison has stimulated a response with contributions for Martin Linton’s campaign for re-election, filing up some hitherto slim coffers.
Things would have looked that much better for Linton’s band if opinion polls had by now shown the two main parties to be neck to neck nationally. With Labour hanging on to a majority of just 163 votes in Battersea , Linton knows he facing quite a serious challenge to hang on to his seat in this key marginal.
Nonetheless the mood in Battersea is at present a great deal more positive and less ugly than Barking, where Labour activists concede that Margaret Hodge is facing a serious threat from the BNP in the fight for the white working class vote.
Battersea, where I have lived for over twenty five years, has always struck me as a generally tolerant community- Irish, Afro-Caribbean, Italians, Asians and a new intake of South Americans, mainland Europeans and Australians have contributed to a relatively convivial multi-cultural community.
It’s nonetheless a challenge in South London to keep the electoral register (and census) up-to-date with short-term lets regularly changing occupancy and new and reconverted flats and houses bought up in recent years by young, relatively affluent middle-class professionals, whose true politics are difficult to pin down.
Personally untainted by the expenses scandal and with a proven track-record as an active campaigner for better local schools, health centres, and transport links, Linton counts on some enduring goodwill locally towards him. But he is campaigning in an area where voter’s intentions will come clearer as Election Day approaches. Mr Linton has a fight on his hands but so has Ms Ellison. Expect the big party guns to descend on south London in the run-up to voting day. Let’s hope the fight in Battersea remains relatively clean and chirpy, as it has been until now.
Best campaigning advice of the day: Don’t knock on doors during the Grand National and, later, during the FA Cup semi-final clash beween Aston Villa and Chelsea.
