Voting

Five choices here in Preseli Pembrokeshire: Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru and UKIP.

The Labour candidate is a lady called Mari Rees. She is a journalist (which could mean anything) and a community development worker. So, no experience of the world of real work, then. There's nothing on the Labour candidate's leaflet to make me rush out and vote for her - it's all the usual vague aspirations and apple-pie stuff that no-one could disagree with. Notably, there is no mention of Gordon Brown - the nearest Mari gets to a touch of stardust is a photo-op with Carwyn Jones.

Stephen Crabb is the sitting (Conservative) MP. He's a likeable enough chap, and is well-regarded in the area. His majority is tiny (a little over 600), but given the current polls, I don't think he will be having too many sleepless nights at the moment. He was guilty of a little 'flipping' in the expenses scandal, and he's a little too born-again Christian Right for my tastes, but he seems sound enough.

The Lib Dem chap, Henry Jones-Davies, I only heard of a few days ago when his leaflet landed on my doormat. I have to confess I haven't read it. I have a major problem with voting for the Lib Dems: however much they portray themselves as above the fray of petty politics, honest and straightforward, I always remember the dirty tricks they get up to at a local level (some that I have been aware of are hair-raising) and realise that they are fundamentally hypocrites. I'm attracted to some of their policies (the £10k starting rate of tax, for instance), but I could never vote for them.

Plaid Cymru are an interesting proposition. I support their desire for independence (although I am not too sure they would not regret it if and when it happened - the Welsh economy is not the strongest), and they have some good local spokesmen. They always give a good account of themselves on the TV news, and seem well-organised and professional. But fundamentally their politics are Old Labour - state intervention at every stage, and an over-reliance on the public sector as the driver of progress. If I were Welsh by birth, their nationalism might over-ride the politics temporarily, but I am not, so it doesn't.

And so we come to UKIP. I am fully in support of them over Europe - I think the very least we should have is a referendum on our continued membership, and I would most certainly vote to leave the EU. (To be clear, I am passionately pro-Europe. I love the place, and I consider myself European as well as British, and certainly closer to Europe than America. It's the institution of the EU that I can't stand, with its undemocratic and unaccountable structure and its corrupt and self-indulgent politics.) But I could never take them seriously as a political party. Nigel Farage seems a good bloke, but would I want him in charge of the NHS or defence procurement? There's not enough evidence that they would be competent, or even what the main thrust of their policies would be. If UKIP offered an immediate referendum on EU membership, and then promised to disband and force a new election for a newly-independent Britain, I might be tempted.

But there is only one real imperative at this election: Labour must be removed from office. Nothing is more important than that. If Labour get another five years, then all the liberties and freedoms that I have cherished since childhood will be gone, irreversibly. The economy would be in utter ruins, and (I hate to say this) one religion above all others will be granted special privileges and will dominate our public life. If my vote can stop that happening, then that is how I must use it.

So on Thursday I will be voting for Stephen Crabb, the Conservative. David Cameron was saying all the right things for me in the leadership debates, and with his recent remarks on a Great Repeal Bill and a contract with the people to clean up politics, get the economy going again, and reform welfare, I will do so with more enthusiasm than I might otherwise have done.

I'm hoping for a Tory Government with a modest majority of, say, 20 seats. As Margaret Thatcher said, large majorities are rarely a good thing. A government needs to be kept on its toes and not become complacent. But a hung parliament would be a disaster. All the deals would be done behind closed doors, principles would be jettisoned in favour of shady bargains, and the markets would probably pull the plug.

So that's me. Tory Boy.

Dealing with Hecklers

There was a time when the ability to deal with a heckler was an essential skill in the kitbag of every politician. Election meetings were usually public affairs, and the response of the audience was far from predictable. The politician had to be prepared for almost anything, and have an ability to think on his (or her) feet. Someone would shout "What about the workers?", and the speaker would reply "This gentleman asks about the workers. Well let me tell him something about our policies ..." Handled well, it showed good humour, an ability to answer tough questions, and a working ability to remember policy detail and relate it instantly to real situations. Handled badly, it showed everyone you were not on top of your game.

Now that everything is done through the medium of television, that streetfighter skill is not in as much demand as before. But seeing how a politician deals with the unexpected still tells you a lot about them.

Today, all three party leaders faced unscripted interruptions to their careful plans. Cameron and Clegg were heckled in the street (no links yet, sorry), got slightly flustered, answered their questioners, and got back on with campaigning. Meanwhile, Gordon Brown was giving a speech to the party faithful (again) when a heckler interrupted. What happened next tells you all you need to know about Brown's lack of humour, flexibility and spontaneity and New Labour's knee-jerk control-freakery:



Note how he carries on reading from the autocue and maintains the weird grin. He says that "there'll be plenty of chances to answer his questions later" - not 'answer your questions', as if Brown will deliver his speech and leave, with questions picked up by junior assistants later on. The heavies bundle the guy out (why? he didn't look angry or threatening to me) and the event carries on. It showed that, to Gordon Brown, the script is everything, and nothing can be allowed that deviates from the plan.

I bet someone got it in the neck afterwards, though. "Who arranged that? Who allowed that to happen? Sue, I think. Ridiculous."

Just imagine how Cameron or Clegg would have dealt with it.

Edit: I've just noticed the carefully arranged doughnutting at the end. Five people, all young and well presented, and all clapping wildly, surrounding the smiling head of the Great Leader. The Kim Jong-Il school of crowd management.

Dandelions

Is it just me, or are there a lot of dandelions this year?

Twitter Tsar and the Police

Old news now, but Labour's 'Twitter Tsar' (Gawd help us) as made a bit of a boob. On Thursday, she sent out a tweet, reading: "First PVs opened in east Bristol, our sample (numbers of votes cast against candidate names), #gameON!"

This is clearly illegal, as the Representation of the People Act 1983 forbids the publication or communication of any polling data before the close of the polls on election day. Publication of early returns may, of course, influence the result, which may be done routinely by countries like Zimbabwe, but is frowned upon here.

The Returning Officer has now handed the matter over to the Police, but I have a deep suspicion that this will be kicked into the long grass until well after the election. Anything we can do to express our concern is worth doing, so I wrote last night to the Returning Officer.

from Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
to electoral.services@bristol.gov.uk
date 30 April 2010 23:58
subject Re Kerry McCarthy and leaking polling data before election

Dear Mr McNamara

I understand from reading the news that one of the PPCs for the Parliamentary seat of Bristol East, Kerry McCarthy, has obtained information about opened postal votes and relayed the information to the general public via Twitter.

As someone who believes in the integrity of our voting system, I am appalled at this news. I understood that it was illegal to make the contents of any votes public prior to the end of polling, as this may be seen as an attempt to influence the result.

I hope that you agree with me that our democracy depends on the integrity of the voting system, and that Ms McCarthy's actions (if reports are true, and she seems to have admitted that they are) are contrary to both fair play and the law of the land. I trust that you will do everything in your power to make sure this does not happen again, and that Ms McCarthy faces the full consequences of her actions - including disbarment of her candidacy if the offence be proved.

I wrote as a member of no political party, but one who is afraid that our once unimpeachable electoral system has been steadily tainted by fraud and questionable practices over the last ten years.

Yours sincerely

Xxx

Today, I had the following reply:

from Electoral Services Electoral Services
to Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
cc Fair Comment ,
Stephen McNamara
date 1 May 2010 13:23
subject Re: Re Kerry McCarthy and leaking polling data before election

Please see message from Mr McNamara:

Dear Mr Xxxxxxxx,

I have as the acting Returning Officer made a complaint to the police.

This is now a police matter and therefore I forwarded your email to them

regards

I'm barricading the door and feeding our already hyperactive dog on Pro-Plus and raw steak, as I expect a visit from the Internal Dissent Unit any night now.

Nicely put

None of the parties currently asking for our votes offers the combination of policy and approach that satisfies me; I imagine most people feel the same. And yet we have to make a decision: whether to vote, and if so, for whom. Phil Walker, over at The Melangerie, puts it very well.

I can recall some years ago, when there was major disruption on the railway network, having to get from York where I had been on a visit, back home to Leicester. Trains were cancelled left, right and centre, and there was basically no way of me making what was usually a very straightforward journey on a direct train. I couldn't get to my destination by a direct route, so I started taking trains which were headed in the right direction. I got home many hours later, but I got there.

The Tories aren't flagging up my destination on their schedule. They're not exactly aimed straight at where I would like us to go. They certainly wouldn't go far enough. But since this is the train headed in most nearly the right direction, I shall take it.

Couldn't have put it better myself.