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Mission is to get the people voting
by Riazat Butt28/ 4/2005
I AM the daughter of Pakistani immigrants.
My father worked in a factory for 30 years and was a union member
during his working life. Both he and my mother have always voted
Labour.
So they were overjoyed when Tony Blair was voted into power in 1997
and, even with the debacle of the war on terror, my parents and I
still plan to vote Labour because the alternatives are too horrible
to contemplate. The Liberal Democrats are uninspiring and we think
the Conservative party's billboards on immigration are
annoying.
Which is why I spent my Saturday afternoon canvassing with the Tory
candidate for Stretford and Urmston, Damian Hinds.
I get into the spirit of the mission by dressing head-to-toe in
blue. I look like a Smurf. Luckily, the addition of a rosette
urging people to Vote Conservative adds a touch of class. I'm glad
I don't know anyone in Urmston.
Linda, who has a clipboard, tells us which doors to knock on. We
shoot round cul-de-sacs like heat seeking missiles.
Damian, a very nice man, charges ahead. I scuttle behind, weighed
down by a parka and a fistful of leaflets. He knocks on a door. I
hover beside him.
His patter is cheerful. "Hello, I'm Damian Hinds, your Conservative
candidate for Stretford and Urmston. Have you thought about how
you'll be voting on May 5?"
I want someone to put Damian on the spot, but people are being very
polite, even when they're saying no.
So I ask him why it's not racist to impose limits on immigration,
whether he thinks the party is misunderstood, what he thinks of the
incumbent constituency MP Beverley Hughes and how he would feel if
he won the seat but his party failed to get into power.
He bats away my questions with diplomatic answers that seem
entirely plausible.
Our knocking on doors is, so far, proving not as fruitful as I
would like because I have not canvassed anyone at all. I wonder if
my left-wing spirit is sending out signals.
I post a few leaflets through doors to console myself but my
fingers are not as nifty as Damian's, who is a dab hand at posting
things through people's doors.
When we get a yes, I feel relieved and happy. Not because I'm
thinking what they're thinking, but going from door-to-door
flogging your wares is hard work. The thought of doing this every
day, for weeks on end, makes me feel sorry for candidates.
Lots of people are out that afternoon, although I see people hiding
in their living rooms and gardens. I blame the sunshine but Damian,
who spends up to eight hours pounding pavements, says there's never
a right time to go canvassing.
"There's always going to be something that gets people out of the
house - church, the weather, shopping, school holidays."
It's hard keeping up but my exhaustion is only matched by the
disappointment of residents not having long discussions about the
party's policies on crime and pensions.
There are other obstacles to contend with too. A small, yappy type
dog nearly takes off Damian's hand and our final knock delivers a
cruel blow.
A young woman has asked to speak to Damian. He rushes over,
thinking she wants to reassure him of her voting intentions.
Instead she launches into an anti-Tory tirade.
"I wasn't going to vote at all, least of all for the Labour party,
until I saw your billboards on immigration and I think they're
despicable," she spat. "Now I am going to vote and I'm going to
vote Labour."
Oh dear.
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