I voted Liberal Democrats, for the first time, for three reasons:
- Through my union membership I got to vote for the Labour leader. I voted for Starmer. I voted for him on the basis of promises that he later broke. Fool me once, shame on you: fool me twice, shame on me.
- The Lib Dem manifesto had more policies that I agreed with, particularly rejoining the EU. I had been on a London march for that. after all.
- A website algorithm said that they had most in common with my views.
However, tactical voting was what I was had been thinking about. Wasn't voting Labour the best way to keep the dreaded Robert Jenrick from being re-elected here in Newark?
If he survived and became party leader, our town would become the heart of darkness. It gave me the chills.
Even so, I considered those three points and stuck to my guns. So come the day, my cross went in the Lib Dem box.
As I left the community centre I sensed a change coming over me. I started to experience the world in new ways: its sounds, its colours, its opportunities.
Ever since, I have been relishing the words 'Liberal' and 'Democrat'.
Liberal: willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas.
Liberal: a supporter of policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare.
Liberal: a supporter of a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy and free enterprise.
Democrat: an advocate or supporter of democracy.
I ask you, what's not to love in those words?
The colour orange suddenly has a fascination for me. I find myself wearing it more and more. It suits my complexion. Orange the colour of youthfulness, enthusiasm and happiness.
This brings me to… The Ed Davey effect. I cannot now go past a tombla without giving it a spin. A cheese is something to roll down a hill and chase. Zumba classes? Morris dancing and swing? Count me in.
By the way, The Ed Davey Effect would get a session on John Peel if he were still alive.
Gone are the memories of Nick Clegg, another oath breaker. The Coalition seems a lifetime away. The Tories used and abused the Lib Dems then targeting their seats in 2015. Now was the time for revenge.
Ed was coming after the blue wall, treating it like a tower of blue Jenga blocks to be pulled apart and crashed down all over the South West.
So, after 14 years of being a supporter of the opposition to the government, I now face the prospect of many more years in opposition.
But in a different way. No longer in despair at the incompetence and cruelty of the government, I shall instead be giving the new government friendly pokes in the ribs and telling them: "You can do better than that."
And, yes, Jenrick won, but it was by thousands, so my vote made no difference. My vote could not transform Newark: all it could transform was me.
You can follow Stuart Whomsley on Twitter.
3 comments:
“As I left the community centre I sensed a change coming over me.” Whilst telling at this election (in the Yeovil constituency) I noticed a change in people’s body language after they’d voted, more so than at any other election. When they entered the polling station some seemed quiet and tense, and when they emerged those same people seemed brighter and more cheerful, as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.
My odd Polling Day story happened when I was telling outside a polling station in a fashionable South Coast bathing resort. A member of the public came up and told me that he was a Labour voter from Cambridgeshire, in town for a family holiday. He had never done any political campaigning before, but wanted to know how he could help. So, we took him off for a session "knocking up" in the afternoon. Suffice to say, he found the whole process a bit baffling, but rather fun, and, like the rest of us, went away despairing about the quality of Lib Dem canvassing. But we won, and I hope he feels that he contributed, even if only in a very small way.
As the Lib Dem candidate for Newark, who stood against Robert Jenrick, may I thank Stuart for his vote. With 72 MP's elected the future is certainly bright for the Lib Dems. I hope Stuart might consider joining the party. We can keen challenging Jenrick but we need as many people on board as possible to do it.
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