Interesting doorstep chat
DANIEL Holland’s coverage of the council elections both interesting and informative. Big name quotes with the results themselves. It went great with my banana and cereals!
I played a small part in the democratic process itself by doorknocking in both the Weetslade and Benton wards of North Tyneside Council. With over half a century of political campaigning, I found the responses I received surprising.
Previous supporters of both the Labour and Conservative parties were saying they were still undecided. Labour supporters were often highly critical of Keir Starmer,
describing him as “a cold fish”, “no charisma at all”, “no idea what he stands for”.
Previous Conservative supporters were saying they might not vote at all as Boris Johnson disgusted them. They felt that the Tory party had become rotten at the top and was no longer the party they had supported since the time of Margaret Thatcher.
Common responses were “they are all the same, only looking after themselves”, “nothing gets better for me whoever gets in”.
I made the point that neither Keir Starmer or Boris Johnson was on ballot papers in the local elections. Every ward needs councillors, of whatever party, who will do their best for local residents. Electing a good representative can make a real difference.
In Weetslade, an enormous number of residents spoke highly of Muriel Green, a very longstanding councillor. This was regardless of who they voted for in a General Election. Everyone seemed to have had an issue sorted by her over the years. Some said they wanted to vote for her this time even though her term as a councillor does not end till next May!
Not hardly noticeable in the results, in North Tyneside, is that there is a large wave of new, younger, female councillors elected for the first time. It will be interesting to see whether they shake things up for the better or get absorbed into the existing, elderly establishment.