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| The nerve centre of Exeter Labour HQ. Kind of. |
Last night I began phoning around the residents of Pinhoe from the Labour offices in Exeter. Telephone canvassing nights are more fun than they sound. Honest. In a large meeting room in the labyrinthine Labour HQ in Clifton Hill, there are telephones situated all the way round the room. The offices always seem to have people there (I have a theory that Dom and Ollie may actually be living there.)
Cllr Richard Branston (Newtown) was already busy on the telephone when I arrived, and seemed to be taking an age on every call, as it seemed that everyone he spoke to knew him and had things they wanted to discuss. The sign of a good ward councillor, in my book.
Cllr Ian Martin (Mincinglake) was busy on the laptop before he was due to head off to a community forum in his ward with Cllr Saxon Spence (County Councillor for Mincinglake & Pinhoe.) With every email he opened, or Twitter / Facebook update he read, there was a cryptic, "Aaaah, that's interesting..." before he went back to tapping away on the keyboard. There's a man at the hub of every decision in Exeter, it seems. Saxon - busy lady as she is - was munching on a sandwich between meetings, and Ollie was wandering around with something microwaveable and steaming on a plate. Possibly a paella. It smelled better than it looked, at any rate.
Dom Collins, our local strategist-come-call-centre-gangmaster had the call sheets all ready for me, and strong black coffee in hand I got on with it.
One never knows how one's call at 5 or 6pm on a dark December night is likely to be received. People may be eating, organising the kids, watching the news (or the Simpsons!) or getting ready to go out. However, I can honestly say that not a single person I spoke to was abrupt or even sounded as though they were desperate to get away.
Our calls always start by asking people if they have any local issues or concerns that they want to raise with our councillors or with Ben, as our MP. The issue that came up most frequently (though only 3 or 4 times) is the prospect of any development of Eastern Fields. It was handy having Saxon there. Between mouthfuls of sandwich she explained that in the New Year there were likely to be 3 or 4 possible proposals going to public consultation from Devon County Council for local residents to have their say on, so watch out for that.
The other issues raised were almost all national issues, or at least the local manifestation in people's lives of consequences from national policies. One woman I spoke to - a single parent - described how terrified she was of increased speculation about Coalition cuts to tax credits. "I rely on them", she said, "and I don't want to go on to benefits. I want to work, and I enjoy my job, but it's only part-time. Tax credits mean I can afford to work."
Another parent, this time of adult children, told of the frustration of her sons - both in their late 20s - being priced out of local property markets, and this is not even property to buy, but property to let. One of her sons shares with his partner and child in a small flat, but the rent is over 40% of their income. Her other son still lives with her and her husband as all he would be able to afford would be a bedsit in a cramped house. "I don't want him living like that," she said, "he is already suffering with depression."
It's calls like this that make the remind me why I am involved in politics. The decisions that we make as elected representatives, whether local or national, really impact on people's lives. I never forget that. I don't know what difference my calls last night made to people, but they certainly reaffirmed my own commitment to work hard with my Labour colleagues to make things better for the people and communities of Pinhoe and Exeter.
My favourite call of the night was to an elderly but spritely couple. "Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked as my closing question.
"Yes," came the reply, "Get this shower out of government."
I'll try, Mr & Mrs B. I'll try.
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