Which Candidate Gets Your Vote In Bristol South?
By Hannah2009 | Wednesday, May 05, 2010, 10:25
With less than 24 hours to go before the polling booths open, as many as four in 10 of us are still undecided who we will vote for.
If that’s you, help is at hand! Websites such as Who Should You Vote For, Vote for Policies and Vote Match aim to match your views to the stated policies and intentions of the political parties.
You indicate whether you agree or disagree with various ideas and at the end of the quiz, you are shown the party whose views best agree with yours.
I tried a couple of them and the result surprised me – the party that most closely reflected my views and priorities wasn’t the one I expected to see!
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve invited the Bristol South candidates to share their thoughts and priorities for the greater Bedminster area by answering a few questions for BedminsterPeople.
So far, the Green Party candidate, Charlie Bolton, the Conservative candidate Mark Lloyd Davies, English Democrat Craig Clarke, Liberal Democrat Mark Wright and TUSC candidate Tom Baldwin have all stepped up onto the podium – just click on their names to read their replies.
Strangely, no word yet from our Labour MP of over 20 years, Dawn Primarolo...
Comments
I saw Dawn on one of these trio discussions after the election, she did not appear to accept that the Labour Party had a bad day or acknowledge that her majority had taken a hit. Obviously she must have trouble holding onto facts or the direction the voters have taken, that might include being able to find her way to Bristol South seat.
By Susie710 at 17:29 on 09/05/10
ReportNo, I wasn't at all surprised that Dawn didn't bother responding to my calls, emails or questions! It seemed par for the course, considering the comments I've read on here before and what I've heard people say over the years.
The only candidate I've seen on the doorstep was Tom Baldwin. I had a 'personal' letter from Mark Wright - the address was even handwritten - and literature from all the parties bar UKIP but their candidate is unwell, I think, so couldn't get out campaigning much.
I think you'd need to move to a marginal like Kingswood before getting the Garibaldis ready! :)
By Hannah2009 at 19:34 on 05/05/10
ReportFair play to all the candidates that did answer the questions. It made for some interesting reading and gave a few insights into the candidates themselves. However, did anyone really expect Dawn Primarolo to answer? At a national level the Labour party and Ms Primarolo seem to think that because the area is a supposed safe seat they do not need to pay it much attention and certainly don't need to spend any time in the area as the votes will just roll in. They might be in for a bit of a surprise this time methinks.
I would say that they don't feel the need to come campaigning but given that I haven't seen a single candidate from any of the other parties on the doorstep either that would be unfair.
I have received literature from most of the parties but again, at national level Labour have been conspicuous by their absence (David Cameron even sent me a 'personal' letter...I didn't know he knew me, I'm half expecting Gordon Brown to turn up for tea and a Garibaldi now :) ).
At a local level things seem to be much different. Okay, the candidates are not out on the doorsteps but at least when you communicate with them they have the decency to reply and indeed work for the communities they represent and are seen out and about.
By Kaptain_Von at 14:07 on 05/05/10
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