A campaign update from Yorkshire

By Mike Harrison

Campaigning in Yorkshire, God’s own county, is going pretty well. In Brigg and Goole, Labour’s candidate and MP since 1997, Ian Cawsey of MP4 fame, is proving a valuable asset to the Party’s campaign to hold the seat. He is extremely popular in the traditional Labour areas and even with Conservative supporters, many of whom say they will be voting for him.

Whilst out in Goole North ward on Saturday with a group of young Labour members sporting ‘Vote Cawsey…Cawsey’s Worth It!’ t-shirts, the response was either positive or undecided. It was a scorching day and the mood was upbea. People wanted to engage and freely recognised that the new £19million Goole High School, the new £3million health centre, and the 2 £1.5million Sure Start children’s centres were down to Labour’s investment in communities.

Of those who were undecided they were willing to listen and in many cases were glad we had come round to talk about their concerns. A little story from the campaign though from Saturday. An elderly lady challenged us about our t-shirts, asking “Do you think its right that we are paying for those t-shirts when the country is bankrupt?” Our response was gentile – we explained that we have paid for our own t-shirts. I went on to talk about the winter fuel allowance, the free bus pass, free TV-licence and the pension rate being linked back to earnings, to which the lady replied “what’s that got to do with Labour?”. She genuinely thought they didn’t come from Labour’s policies, which backs up my long-held belief that we haven’t been good at shouting about what our policies have meant in reality.

I am also campaigning in Keighley, a Labour held seat with a majority just over 5,500. We have a great candidate in Jane Thomas – a wonderful example of where the Labour Party is and should be. She has been campaigning hard in Keighley for over a year which is paying off as name recognition is noticeable. On the doorstep, Labour’s support is holding up even in her opponents’ neighbourhood.

Overall, people do have genuine concerns and questions they want answers to – more than at the last election and a lot more than I would have expected given the parliamentary crisis over the last year. Surprisingly for me, even more people than normal seem willing to engage in debate and discussion. Although I am of a particular political persuasion I think this election offers a far healthier opportunity of democratic participation then previous elections.

There is a lot more work to do between now and polling day – and so far I’m nervously enjoying it!