Campaign Catchup

It has been a hectic few weeks, with little time to update my blog - but at last I can draw breath and share some highlights!

In between knocking on doors I have also had the opportunity to take part in hustings, speak to young people and meet staff from that amazing organisation Mind. I visited the local Mind in Hemel Hempstead a couple of weeks ago with PPC Richard Grayson and local County Council candidate Ron Tindall. CEO Julie Atree felt that more could be done at a European level to share good practice and push for better Mental Health care across member states. We discussed the very real need for services for those with mental health conditions to be far more co-ordinated, particularly in regard to housing.

I have also relished the opportunity to talk to young people. Sal Brinton - PPC for Watford and I took part in a "Question Time" at West Herts College in Watford last week. The questions were challenging, not least because of the current political climate.

Later in the week a visit to Stanway school in Colchester gave me another opportunity to talk to young people, this time student council representatives. Strangely enough I guess that is where my political career began - I still have my "council" badge to prove it and was interested to note that whilst so much else has changed such enamelled badges are still exactly the same as they were 40 years ago!

The Hope Not Hate campaign has been active up and down the country to challenge the racist BNP on the streets of Britain. I joined the demonstration in Great Yarmouth, handing out leaflets and talking to shoppers about what they really stood for. Sadly the only other parties represented were Labour and the Greens, clearly not such a concern for candidates from other parties. I was most impressed with two women vicars who had turned up in their dog collars to take a stand. Both expressed the view that it was at times like this the church needs to be seen on the streets rather than in a holy huddle.

Hustings are always interesting, it doesn't matter how much you prepare you can't predict all the questions! I enjoyed hustings organised by Colchester pensioners a couple of weeks ago (though at a loss to understand why the Tories didn't turn up) and then last weekend I was in Welwyn for the UNA hustings - then in Woodbridge on Thursday evening for hustings organised by Transition Woodbridge an organisation committed to positive action on climate change. Knowing that this was one of the rare hustings when UKIP would be present I had come armed ready to answer questions about the Lisbon Treaty! Sadly there were no questions about it at all - so I had to use my final statement to quote from said treaty, based on the shared values of Freedom, Democracy, Equality and the Rule of Law - "it shall combat social exclusion and discrimination and shall promote social justice and the protection of equality between men and women, solidarity between generations and protection of the rights of the child" Have to confess I am more than happy with those shared objectives.