28 April 2005
Back to school
It's not often that I post twice in one day but there are two reasons why I am: my weekend is already chockfull _my first meeting tomorrow is at 8.30 and my last at 9pm, and so it goes on all weekend, with no bank holiday for us _and I've had a very good day.
My highlight was a visit to the civics class of year 9 at Stratford School. Labour didn't turn up, nor the Liberals, so it was me, the Tory and the Green, just as it was at last night's hustings. We had questions asked by named school students to all three of us which were as usual with young people some of the most intelligent that I have been asked.
The first question was, what is the first thing you would do for us if you got elected. I said I would give Tony Blair a big headache and they all cheered. The teachers said they didn't want them to clap but they still did from time to time. I would say most were Respect. When we canvassed in Forest Gate later that day several households had school students who had been in the class and were supporting Respect.
At the end they brought up Respect broadsheets and asked me to sign them. They were lovely.
It is a problem for Labour that it has little support among young people.
Afterwards we went to a school in a part of West Ham which I would say is not our natural territory and which we have leafletted but not canvassed. Several people said they were voting for us, one had my poster on his car. No hostility and lots of maybes.
Everyone in our campaign feels that the evidence of legal advice has hit Blair and Labour hard. Our tube leafletters report many people calling him a liar. Our street canvassing has been great and our car cavalcade made a big stir. We've got six days to pin this on Blair and on Lyn Brown and Stephen Timms here in Newham.
By the way, the Green candidate told nme she was berated at a hustings by a woman who said why haven't you got a campaign. She protested that she had, and eventually it became clear that the questioner thought she was Labour!
My highlight was a visit to the civics class of year 9 at Stratford School. Labour didn't turn up, nor the Liberals, so it was me, the Tory and the Green, just as it was at last night's hustings. We had questions asked by named school students to all three of us which were as usual with young people some of the most intelligent that I have been asked.
The first question was, what is the first thing you would do for us if you got elected. I said I would give Tony Blair a big headache and they all cheered. The teachers said they didn't want them to clap but they still did from time to time. I would say most were Respect. When we canvassed in Forest Gate later that day several households had school students who had been in the class and were supporting Respect.
At the end they brought up Respect broadsheets and asked me to sign them. They were lovely.
It is a problem for Labour that it has little support among young people.
Afterwards we went to a school in a part of West Ham which I would say is not our natural territory and which we have leafletted but not canvassed. Several people said they were voting for us, one had my poster on his car. No hostility and lots of maybes.
Everyone in our campaign feels that the evidence of legal advice has hit Blair and Labour hard. Our tube leafletters report many people calling him a liar. Our street canvassing has been great and our car cavalcade made a big stir. We've got six days to pin this on Blair and on Lyn Brown and Stephen Timms here in Newham.
By the way, the Green candidate told nme she was berated at a hustings by a woman who said why haven't you got a campaign. She protested that she had, and eventually it became clear that the questioner thought she was Labour!
