Public reaction to politicians

As a Liberal Democrat it is fairly easy to knock on any door. I suspect it is a lot harder for Conservative and Labour supporters to knock on some doors. Last week I was asked to talk at a public meeting in Morecambe, but I found out a couple of days ago that it has been cancelled. During election times there has to be fairness between parties in the media and in public meetings and unfortunately there is a BNP candidate standing. I would have found it difficult to share a platform with a person if they held the views of this party, but from their point of view when they knock on the door they must meet a lot of hostility because of the BNP's odious policies. This morning (21st May) I saw a handwritten note on the letterbox 'No BNP'. I also saw one BNP leaflet in a window.

This morning I gave a leaflet to a lady and she hesitantly said 'I shall read it but I won't be voting for you'. I would guess that she was a Tory, but I thanked her for reading it. This evening somebody shouted 'get lost' after a leaflet had been delivered. I hope he will reconsider his approach sometime. I also met someone who started to rant about all politicians being as bad as each other. I asked if he would stand (which seems to me to be a logical conclusion) but he didn't seem interested and didn't take my leaflet. What a pity that he couldn't see the current
situation as a call to action, and act on it. It also strikes me that his behaviour is worse than many elected politicians.

I could have said that I am untainted by victory in elections, but this doesn't sound good. In my leaflets I prefer 'time for change'. I detect a mood of antipathy towards politicians in general, but I also have a sense of change in direction. We will have to wait for the result in June.

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