Political Conversations

It is good to knock on doors. I have never asked anyone if they will vote for me as I have never thought this question would influence anyone. I get asked if I have been out canvassing so the answer must always be no. For this election we are conducting a survey and we are telling the person who comes to the door that there are simply three yes or no answers. We also tell them that there are no right and wrong answers and this way we manage to speak to a lot of people.

We also get a lot of information, not just from three answers, but we get people talking to us. One of the questions is about the Independent Party in Morecambe which is split this time. We don't know the difference between the two parties but we know that this is also the view of the electorate. How are they supposed to choose between two parties if they are both saying the same thing?

I met someone yesterday who had decided to spoil her vote for the Morecambe Town Council. There is nothing wrong with that (apart from the better choice of the Liberal Democrats) as she has exercised her democratic right by sending in her spoilt vote. She still wants to use her vote even if the candidates are not good enough for her. Initially this person was reluctant to talk with us but after those magical three questions we did have a conversation. The real story is that she is a Tory and there are no Tory candidates for the town council.

It is good to knock on doors and chat. The chances are that I am speaking with someone who doesn't vote and who knows, they may decide to turn up at the polling station anyway and a conversation with a candidate may just influence their vote.

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