Doorstep politicians: give them your time – if not your vote

Ahead of next month’s county council elections, Labour activist Dave Wilson explains why a door knock from a political canvasser should be welcomed by voters ‘Ive been chased down a garden path by a swearing man dressed mostly in a bathrobe’

While it’s the time of year for daffodils and bluebells across Kent, another bloom is about to make an appearance.

Every other year, and sometimes more often, you have a chance to catch sight of another, rarer, bloom – the multi-coloured political rosette, which usually comes in attractive hues of blue, purple, red, yellow and green.

This sight is often accompanied by the sound of feet tramping up your path to deliver political leaflets, or a knock on your door from someone who’d quite like to know how you intend to vote. Yes, it’s election time again.

Many people feel the need to treat these political campaigners as intruders or pests, throwing leaflets into the bin unread or slamming the door in their faces.

But really we ought to treasure these dedicated people, who give up their time to support their candidates, marching around our streets whatever the weather for no personal gain, tramping the pathways to try to convince you that their candidate can be the one to make a difference. Because no matter who they represent, these activists are the foundation of our democracy, preserving your options to vote for whoever you prefer.

Indeed, door-knocking and leafleting are essential to helping you make your voting decision, as these communications are the most direct contact you’re likely to get with individual candidates.

So if you value your right to participate in selecting your representatives for city, county or parliamentary seats it might be worth investing a little of your time in reading the pamphlets or engaging in a doorstep chat.

I know from hard personal experience that the knock on the door is not universally welcome. I’ve been chased down a garden path by a swearing man dressed mostly in a bathrobe (I didn’t stop to find out what else, if anything, he was wearing). That behaviour is highly unusual, the British being largely polite and tolerant people, but obviously knocking on doors is seen as a bit of an imposition.

Of course, we all know and respect that your choice of how to vote is private, but when canvassers ask how you’re going to vote it’s actually helpful to you to tell them, because once they know you’re committed to another party they won’t bother you again.

On the other hand, if you genuinely support their candidate they’ll make lots of effort to help you vote on polling day – offering lifts to the polling station for those with mobility problems, offering postal vote forms, and reminding you of the poll closing time on the day itself.

So why might you endure the doorstep conversation – or even welcome it?

There are several reasons. I’ve often heard voters complain that “we never see your lot round here except at election time”. There’s some truth in that, not least due to the fact that people tend to resent it on the rare occasions we do come along, which is hardly encouraging.

Although elected councillors will always be accessible thorough their ward surgeries and public meetings and the local press, most political parties are short of cash to print leaflets and volunteers to deliver them. So money gets hoarded until there is an election and voters are actually interested. In addition, no-one actually wants to tramp the streets (even of our beautiful city and towns) in the middle of winter on the off-chance that someone might answer their door at six o’clock at night.

Anyway, door-knocking is often the only chance you as a voter will have to meet the candidates in the flesh. So when they do turn up, why not talk with them about the issues that worry you? Almost always they’ll be keen to share with you their solutions to issues like parking, student renting, refuse collection and so on. They’ll respond to almost anything, even if it’s nothing to do with the council they want to get elected to. And they don’t bite! Even if you don’t agree with what they say, at least you’ll have met one of those mysterious political people, and you might discover they’re really just human beings too. More importantly, if you don’t read the leaflets or talk to politicians, how are you going to know what they stand for? However you vote, don’t you want to know what the councillors actually elected promised to do for you? How else are you going to hold them to account? These flowers won’t be in bloom again until at least 2019. So, please, give them a chance to show their best if you see them. And, of course, don’t forget to vote on May 4.

Labour activist Dave Wilson could be knocking on a front door near you