Matthew Palmer is currently seeking re-election to Kensington and Chelsea Council.
I was elected four years ago in a once safe Labour council seat (65% of the ward is social housing). On the doorstep we said we wanted the opportunity to prove we could do a better job than the existing Labour councillors and therefore we asked the residents to:
“lend us your vote for this one election. If we deliver all that we promise and we help you when you come to us then in the following election we keep your vote. However if we fall short of that promise, you take your vote back and vote us out”.
This was impossible for them to argue against and 95% of people to whom we said that agreed and became pledges.
For the past four years we have worked the ward and those pledges are “solidly for us” and we hope to be re-elected. 20% of the electorate are new to our ward since that election, and when we introduce ourselves and repeat the same “lend us your vote” line – and it still works.
For the General Election there are a great deal of “undecideds”. When you break the component parts of the electorate into various types of groupings, you will find that there is the highest ever level of floating voters at this general election and David Cameron needs to reach them with that promise.
If you are canvassing tonight, try it.
