Each week a different PPC provides us with an insight into life as a candidate and gives us a flavour of their own campaign and interests. If you are a candidate and are keen to be featured, please email Jonathan Isaby.
This week’s diary is written by Justin Tomlinson, who is PPC for Swindon North. A local councillor for the Abbey Meads ward in the constituency since 2000, he contested the seat at the 2005 general election when he reduced the majority of Labour MP Michael Wills from over 8,000 to barely 2,500 on a swing of nearly 7%. He now requires a swing of around 3% to finish the job.
Saturday 5th September
Relentless campaigning is the key in North Swindon, and a weekend never goes by without a flurry of deliveries and canvassing of some description. Today we’re targeting three separate wards which means quite a bit of logistical juggling.
We’ve got a tried and tested system here. We operate a kind of ‘flying squad’ of volunteers who are parachuted in wherever they’re needed at quite short notice. This gives us maximum flexibility, which is far better than fixing sessions weeks in advance and has been crucial in helping us secure 43 of the 59 Councillors in Swindon.
Sunday 6th September
Unless there’s a specific event organised, Sundays are often a bit of a ‘play it by ear’ affair. Today, buoyed up by our frenzy of activity yesterday, we decide on another delivery session. A flurry of text messages gathers the troops. I’m coordinating the activities this weekend and flying solo. Our agent, Peter Heaton-Jones, has managed to fracture a rib and tear a couple of muscles in some bizarre gardening-related incident. He’s dosed up to the eyeballs on prescription painkillers so I’m leading the day’s activities with Cllr Dale Heenan, our Deputy Chairman Political, so it’s his ward we concentrate on.
Monday 7th September
Back to work – paid work, that is. Running my own company is the perfect arrangement for being a PPC. It gives me the flexibility to drop things at a moment’s notice if something crops up, as it often does!
We are currently working through our various Swindon Conservatives websites, refreshing the design. Today we have finished off the main site. We will be working on a number of our ward sites throughout the week. The - internet through websites, online forums and Facebook - are becoming an increasingly important part of our campaign mix.
The local paper has just published a league table of the attendance record of councillors at council meetings, so I have drafted a letter to the editor, pointing out that my 100% attendance record is an important part in restoring trust in politics.
In the evening it’s our group meeting at the Council offices. Future policy and tactics are discussed and possible motions debated. We follow that with a campaign team meeting, discussing plans for the general election, the local elections next May and our campaign priorities over the next month. I am lucky to have an excellent team of helpers in Swindon.
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