A busy weekend of canvassing...

Me, Cllr Moira McDonald and Exeter Council
leader Cllr Pete Edwards in Summerway

Well, what a great weekend of canvassing! Saturday was a gloriously sunny and crisp day in Pinhoe, and I was joined by an army of local Labour councillors and activists to "blitz" the doorsteps of the Summerway area. Councillors Pete Edwards, Ian Martin and Moira McDonald joined me at one end, while Councillors Tony Wardle, Greg Sheldon, Rosie Denham and our local organiser Dom Collins covered another area. A lot of people were out in their gardens or making their way to the local shops and parks, so we had a great opportunity to get out and meet people. 

The response was extremely favourable, with many saying that they are very satisfied with the way Exeter is currently faring, despite the gloom of the national situation economically. It seems that my recent message that Exeter is managing to prosper despite adverse national conditions, while Tory-run local cities such as Plymouth are struggling  is really resonating with people. I had a good conversation with a new voter to the area, a woman in Willow Way, recently moved to Exeter from London. "I usually vote Conservative," she said, "at least I did at the general election, and I did in London for the council there. But Exeter is lovely, it's doing so well. So I don't really want to vote against Labour - you're doing a good job here." I wasn't going to argue!

On a sadder note, we also spoke to people who are being adversely affected by the coalition's policies nationally. Many were concerned about the noises being made about welfare reform and cuts to disability allowances, I spoke to 2 concerned carers. Another was worried about cuts to housing benefits, and that the proportion of the household income that would be spent on rent and utilities would make their home unaffordable from 2013. These are real concerns for many people in Exeter as my phone canvassing has also shown. I had a long conversation with on guy who works as a fitter for a solar panel company. The uncertainty within the industry as a result of government prevarication over feed-in tariffs has made him very worried about his job. At a time when we are trying to encourage more people to switch to renewable energies, the government is totally failing to give leadership, and in its pledge to be the greenest government ever, and I will be writing in more detail on this issue later in the week.

We noticed the exposed metal bollard stumps in Margaret Court parking bays. These cannot be good for tyres, and would certainly be a trip hazard for an elderly person, or a person of limited mobility. Moira has already been on the case and reported them to the council to follow up with the housing association responsible. 

Finally, the most unexpected moment of the day was when one older gentleman shook my hand, apologising for the oily state of his hands. "I've been busy on one of my projects", he explained. I asked what he was working on, and he invited me to come and have a look. So round I went to his shed, where he pulled off the cover to reveal a stunning restored classic BSA motorcycle. It was stunning, but only one of 6 he had already lovingly restored to their former glory. It really made my day to see the passion of the man for a classic British piece of engineering. I am looking forward to calling round more between now and May to see how the latest project is coming along... "You won't be too busy to get out to vote will you?" I asked as I left. "Never missed one yet," came the reply, followed by, "and don't worry, boy. Your lot always get my vote." His taste in politics, like his taste in motorbikes, is clearly impeccable!

Highlight of my day! A stunning 1963 BSA

Door-to-door work over with, Cllr Ian Martin, my partner Jenny and I made our way up to Holy Trinity church where the guides were holding a jumble sale. While Jenny and Ian were buying up half of the bookstall(!) I had a chat with Maggie, one of the leaders. It turns out Maggie is a graduate of Exeter CVS "Speaking Up" course - a course in personal development, confidence, and active citizenship. It was a pleasure to hear from Maggie how her experience on that course had given her the impetus to get involved in leading the guides, and also to become more involved in her local school to support learning. (You can find out more about Speaking Up here.)

The new, carved youth shelter at Arena Park

Finally on Saturday, Cllr Ian Martin then showed me the new, unique youth shelter carved from wood by local artisan woodcraftsman James Bond. What a stunning and imaginative facility for a meeting place for children and young people! Another great example of the sort local facilities that are coming from the vision and the creative partnership between Exeter's Labour-led council and local business leaders and craftsmen. Long may it continue!