Sorry I was out when you called....

Well, well, well.... on Saturday I had a visitor call at my home in Pinhoe. I was out, but was very disappointed to have missed her, for it was my local councillor. Well, one of them. Cllr Moira MacDonald you probably all know. This was the Tory one. You know, Cllr Thompson. Yes, Cllr Thompson. No? Oh well, let's see if this jogs your memory...

She left her card...

...and Exeter Tories tweeted that she's called round. The tweet included her photo. Here she is with her two helpers...

Turn around Cynthia! You can see my house from there!
(Cllr Thompson is the one in the middle by the way.)

...right outside my house! (Well fancy that!) Now, on the reverse of her card, were her key messages. So pay attention, because Cllr Thompson has something to tell  you. I thought it might be fun to take one of her messages per day, to have a look at how it all stacks up. 

Today's message: The Lib Dems "CAN'T WIN HERE!" 

(Ironic, really. The Tories couldn't win without the Lib Dems.)

The message is that the result in Pinhoe could decide the council. This is very important. So she's put it in block capitals. The Lib Dems, she would like to point out, cannot win in Exeter and Pinhoe. To illustrate this point, Cllr Thompson would like to draw your attention to the fact that at the 2011 elections, Labour were a full 6% ahead in the vote when the people of Exeter chose their councillors:

2011: Exeter backs Labour

The Lib Dems were on 15% last year. To say the Lib Dems are struggling as a party is something of an understatement these days. A recent You Gov poll suggests that 25% of those who voted Lib Dem last time around are already intending to back Labour. 25% are sticking by the Lib Dems. 25% are still "undecided", with a further 25% intending to back "another party": nationalist parties, Greens, Independents, and possibly the even the Tories. You never know, I suppose.

No wonder the Tories are nervous. Nationally, it looks as though the disaffected Lib Dem vote is coming across to back Labour. The Parliamentary by-elections held since 2010 have shown an average swing to Labour of 7.9%. 

Locally, it is even worse for the Tories. Council by-elections in the south and south west in 2011 saw an average increase in Labour's vote of 13%! The message is clear, and I am grateful to Cllr Thompson for pointing it out again:

Lib Dems cannot win here. Greens cannot win here. If you previously voted Lib Dem and want to vote for a progressive candidate; if you want a stronger, fairer community, then please vote Labour.

Tomorrow: Why the people of Exeter wouldn't want to "risk" a Tory council...