Categories: uncategorized
Date: 05 November 2010 12:33:16
We has a local council by-election yesterday. Last night I was is in the committee room as close of poll loomed. The eternal question - is it worth one final knockup? The traditional answer - the young and keen do the streets around the polling stations, the old farts stay in and have the first beer of the night. In 1997 I was young and keen. Somehow I've become an old fart... When I was much younger than I am now, I sometimes - often - went out canvassing or knocking-up, getting out the vote, in grousps (as you do) and sometimes there were these older comrades who seemed to know everyone in the ward or the district. I did it today (well, yesterday I suppose) We were a team. There was T, up from Brighton (standing to be a councillor herself next time round), and M the driver (a busdriver even), and A from Liverpool who's only been in London a few months, and P the enthusiastic north Londoner who wanted to canvass and persuade and cajole rather than get the vote out, and I was the local knowledge. And I found myself saying, let me do this one because I know them, or he's alright he'll vote he's a party member, or I know she's already voted because I saw her earlier, or leave this family alone because the old man's very ill and can't get out and we'll only upset them, or this guy always promises but never answers the door. And I realised that I am now that old fart. I do know many of the people in these streets. More than I thought I did. Number-snatching at the polling station, of fifty-odd voters who turned up while I was there I knew maybe 7 or 8 of them, and recognised at least that many again. Some from church, some from the pub, some because they live in my street and I pass teh walking to the station, some because they are the usual suspects who turn out at any political event.I guess that's normal and expectable, seeing as I've lived here for twenty years now. But it feels weird for London. I can't believe I'd actually recognise a quarter or more of the six-thousand-odd people who live in this ward. But maybe I might recognise a quarter of the couple of thousand who come out and vote in a low-key election like this. Well, our candidate got elected. And these folk voted for us. I hope he can do stuff for them, stuff that really helps them,