Tony Devenish is a Westminster councillor, a two-time parliamentary candidate and eighth on the list of candidates for South East England at June's European Parliament election. Here he gives us an update on that campaign.
If you are an MEP candidate and would like to write about the campaign in your region for ConservativeHome, please email Jonathan Isaby.
It’s nearly a year since ten candidates were selected to fight under the Conservative banner in the South East for the June 4th elections. Many ConHome readers will receive updates from sitting MEPs Dan Hannan, Richard Ashworth, Nirj Deva and James Elles, but I thought I’d take the opportunity to share my thoughts about the campaign to date here.
With Association Annual General Meetings on the go, things are hotting up across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex. The MEPs and the new candidates (Therese Coffey, Sarah Richardson, Richard Robinson, myself, Nina Kaariniemi and James Marc Brunel-Walker) all welcome feedback from ConHome readers; covering six and a half million electors within 84 parliamentary constituencies is a challenge!
Thanks firstly to all those activists, councillors, PPCs, MPs and agents who have offered us their support. Despite what the BBC may at times say, the Conservative Party is one of the most welcoming groups of people you could meet. Come rain, hail or shine, Tories are out in their communities week in, week out. Grass roots democracy is alive and well in South East England.
Three main themes have struck me across the region: firstly, without appearing complacent politically, the other parties are far less active in much of the area than at any time in living memory. Nick Clegg’s personal profile is almost as low as a new MEP candidate, few mention UKIP and Labour are almost invisible. Our main opposition is voter apathy: turnout is key and at each canvassing session, quiz night, or speaking engagement, we stress the need to encourage friends and neighbours to apply for and use their postal vote.
The second theme is how the recession is really overshadowing all other issues. We all know Labour governments end in chaos, but Gordon Brown has really surpassed his Labour predecessors. The economy is often the only issue on the doorstep and at social events. The term "fear’"may be too strong, but certainly "worry" is universal - although often twinned with optimism that, as one member recently put it to me, "our country survived Attlee, and Wilson… we will recover from Blair and Brown".
The third and final theme is more of a question. Will the public and media be interested in Europe - and as importantly - the county council elections on 4th June? Or will we just witness a referendum on Gordon Brown, the unelected Prime Minister?
The jury’s out, but be assured your MEP Candidates will be working like all ConservativeHome readers to get out the vote on June 4th: the rehearsal for the General Election.
