Sunday, April 22, 2007

More campaign stories

On Saturday Wendy and I went to give out posters to those who had requested them and also to take yet more photographs of people very keen to be on Wendy's literature.

We went to three houses in particular on the same estate - the first two delighted in telling us that they had chased the LibDems from their doorstep when leafletting, telling them how much damage the LibDems had done in their area and giving the leaflets back, the third told us that the last time they had been on a campaign leaflet it had been for the LibDems but never again would they fall for their cheap tricks. (Or at least that is what they said to us, might all be trumped up so let's call it alleged comments)

It is further alleged that Cllr Makinson's name was mud all over the estate, apparently he used to represent them, I didnt know that. I wonder what Picton residents think of him?

Clearly the LibDem star is now falling so fast it is about to crash into the sea and extinguish.

12 months ago Wendy and I did not know any of these people, we have met them this municipal year while out campaigning and going to meetings. They are not LP members, although it strikes me we should be recruiting them, they are hard working local community activists and they have been impressed with our work and now want to support us. It is a very warming and a very genuine support that has come about entirely through our work in the area. (LibDems reading this can please themselves whether or not they believe it, but I know it is the truth).

I dont know how they voted before, but obviously in the case of the person who is now supporting Wendy, who was on a photo on a LibDem leaflet in the past, they are a switch voter. (Actually now I think about it, we had two of those this weekend).

One family that Wendy went to see at the weekend, who had written asking for posters told her that they were keen to support Labour after we had helped their daughter with a housing issue but the man of the house told her that he had been voting Labour for over 50 years and this was the first time anyone ever asked him to go on a Labour leaflet, he was thrilled, so were we.

One of our best supporting cheer-leading couples, who we met about 14 months ago when responding to a survey they had returned, told us that Cllr Invisible had knocked on their door and asked them if they had received their postal votes and were voting LibDem. Evidently they gave him short shrift, told him they had already cast their vote for Labour. They told me he was Frank Doran until I asked them to describe him to me, not much facial recognition there then, for either of the LibDems. (Neither of them had a clue who Jimmy "Hendrix" was either.) They said they had only ever met me, Wendy, Claire and Lord Alton in all the donkeys years they have lived in the area. (They thought Lord Alton was great as a 16 and 17 year old but went really down hill since he went to Westminster apparently, allegedly).

My mate Suzanne from Glossop and I were leafletting in Lister Road at the weekend. We delivered a leaflet to Fareham residents in a lovely side street blighted by the Kenny Market wall that runs along the end of their street. We discussed how awful this was and how we should try to get something done about this. We walked on along Lister Road when a woman ran up behind us panting and flourishing our leaflet. "Did you deliver this?" she said. My heart sank, an angry resident wanting us to take it back, quite a rare occurence in this election. I said yes we had done so. "Are you LP members?" she asked, I confirmed that we were. "Oh good", said she "I just wanted to know what if anything you can do to help with the awful wall and fence at the end of Fareham, it is really upsetting to us all." I was pleased to tell her that we had been thinking the very same thing ourselves and would get on to it straightaway.

Rumours abound that the LibDem candidate in K&F is truly working on his own in this election. It is true that Wendy and I spotted about six LibDems in the Needham Triangle last weekend, but the candidate was not amongst them, perhaps they were briefing against him? None have been seen since.

This weekend he has been spotted in three different locations, delivering white envelopes, always on his own.

I see he is his own agent and that Frank Doran has not even nominated him, I bet there is an interesting story there!

We would be keen to hear from anyone who sees either LibDem councillor out and about in the last week or so before polling day, especially anyone who sees them together. Just what is the explanation for the rift that has appeared between them? (allegedly). Did FD stop RM from going on the chicken run? Did RM stop FD from sending him away? Does one or the other smell bad? Who can say? Or is it all supposition and totally unfounded and scurrilous allegations that you would do well to ignore?

Answers on a post card please to Frank's house, on the Beatle's Estate and if he pops home any time soon from where he really lives, he might just pick it up. Or at least that is the word on the estate, they claim he doesnt really actually actively live there. Personally I don't believe a word of it myself, outrageous lies. I am sure he is there every day and every night just like I am in L15 and RM is in L18 (ditto Wendy, although not in the same house I rush to explain). You clearly dont have to live in the ward to represent people, look at Cllrs Makinson, Jobling and Sidorczuk for instance, they dont live in Picton either.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm Louise I must warn you that Libel can cost alot of money... Perhaps you should ease off on the rumour mill.

Louise Baldock said...

Yeah, losing elections can cost quite a bit to the personal income too.

Perhaps you should worry a bit less about what I allege and a bit more about serving constituents.

Happy to be proved wrong on all the things I have alleged but clearly not said are the truth

(not holding my breath though)

Anonymous said...

Well first things first, I'm not a councillor. I can promise you that, on my grandma's grave.
However I can suggest, in as friendly a manner as possible, that you are barking up the wrong tree here. Intrigue is all well and good, except when it's lies.

What about the rift in your group anyways?

Peace out.

Louise Baldock said...

Yes anonymous, you are right, there is another perfectly straightforward explanation for why FD is neither RM's agent nor nominated him. I imagine both are still furious about it, even now, although for very different reasons.

I hope they didnt shout at you too loudly when you mentioned having posted on here. You seemed like a nice young man to me and I wouldnt want you to get into bother.

(I wouldnt call the intrigue "lies" though, intrigue is intrigue)

Am not aware of a rift in our group, do please tell!

Success breeds unity, everyone knows that. We are all very much together as we look forward to a bright future for the city of Liverpool!

No really, honestly.

Anonymous said...

I'm not that young I'm afraid... nor have we met so I don't know where you get that opinion from!

Louise Baldock said...

I would start looking for a new career if I were you, latest contributor.

This one has only about a week of shelf-life left

I know full well who left the earlier posts and it wasn't you

Louise Baldock said...

I'd go to bed if I was you, you are just making a bigger fool of yourself and the powers that be in the campaign centre tomorrow wont be best pleased with you to learn about your myriad rantings which clearly show how rattled you are over in Smithdown Road.

It all just serves to demonstrate my point that the LibDems in Liverpool are on the back foot and now clearly rattled and panicking.

You do yourself absolutely no favours by contributing to an archive that will remain online for years to come for everyone to observe.

Anonymous said...

Seems to me the intention is to "upset" the LD group into posting details about the campaign. Didn't work did it?!

Louise Baldock said...

No, in truth it was a bit of mischief making.

Great fun at election time

I dont know you to post details of the LD election campaign. I already know what it is, we all do. It is the usual campaign (albeit with a different main topic) as you run every year.

And we all have a copy of the national LD campaign handbook so none of it is new.

And I have been fighting and beating LibDems since 1992 so there is not much to learn now about LD campaigns

They all follow the same pattern. Which is why it was so ironically funny that I put up a post wondering about the lack of my little blue envelope with my personal PV letter (or if I didnt specifically say so, that was what I had in mind) when it turned up the very next day.

Then we always have the two horse race type squeeze message, using TB as the bogie man figure.

Then we also have a chart, showing whatever figures best demonstrate how close the election is - so Mike Storey has gone for the share of the vote across the city whereas Marbrow has gone for the actual votes in the ward.

The LibDem campaign is built on two facets, the squeeze message (the Tories cannot win here, the Greens cannot win here etc) coupled with negative stories designed to push down the opposition's vote.

None of this is new, nothing you could have posted would have added to this. It is merely standard text book stuff.


Ironically the LDs have forgotten to turn over the page to read about the campaign you are meant to run when you have been in power for a while.

Your campaigns only really work for a party in opposition, they are pretty useless for a party in power, which I would have thought you would have learnt by now, after Sheffield, never mind Liverpool.

Essentially your campaign is only effective for a short while and then needs changing. Gladly you dont seem to either realise that or be any good at putting it into practice.

Why do you think you did so badly in Speke in the last two elections, or generally last year?

Mainly it is because you are not connected with the communities you represent and they come to see that and otherwise because you dont know how to reflect local aspirations in your campaigns.

But hey, who am I to advise you? I am glad you are as poor as you are, it makes our job easier.

Anonymous said...

Games up guys she's cracked us, dammit this girl is good.

Anonymous said...

According to Richard Marbrow's last generic cut-n-paste leaflet to drop through my Fairfield front door, "only Paul Twigger can win here...." haven't Dickie's friends at Liverpool Direct taught him how to use his computer yet?

Goodness knows I've paid enough of my council tax to subsidise that oddly unaccountable body.