Tory Porkies 3: New Depths

My good friend Roger Allen.
Tory. But I don't hold that against him!

I have a confession to make. I have friends who are Conservatives. Don't get me wrong, I think they are very much mistaken politically, but they are generally good people, and I enjoy their company. Some I have even clashed robustly with in the council chamber, but I respect them. I believe their core beliefs (however erroneous) are sincerely held, and argued with some measure of integrity. Cllr Pete Chapman, Cllr Michael Goodman, former Councillors Nigel Reed and my good friend Roger Allen (all from my previous council in Dorset) fall into that category. Last week, I debated with Exeter Tory Cllr James Taghdissian in the Central Library. He argued for a living wage for workers. And free public transport. Hard to argue against those.

But this week, in my opinion, some of the small group of Tories active in the local campaign sank to new depths. One never expects an entirely clean fight from the Tories, and even more so at a time when they have very little going for them nationally, but to attempt to deceive and mislead the electorate, again and again, is contemptible. When the Tories first knew I had the audacity to stand against their candidate in "their" seat, they began to attack me. A theme throughout was that I was "parachuted in"... Ed Miliband's Import Ò, as they would have it. Never mind the fact that I have been working in Exeter in the charity and community sector for 6 years, or that I moved to Exeter more than 3 years ago. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, as they say.

When these Tory Porkies didn't have the desired impact, those classy Conservatives tried a new tack. My Tory friends in Dorset (where I had been a Councillor for 8 years) were contacted by Exeter's Tories. Did they have any "useful information" on me? Nice. They could have tried debating the issues. Winning the argument. Going head-to-head on who was best placed to represent Pinhoe and to bring more prosperity and quality to Exeter. But no. They were after "dirt".

Most commentators predict more gains for Labour
in Exeter this May, giving the Party outright control

Exeter Conservatives are worried. Labour needs just 2 more seats to take overall control of Exeter Council, and at a time when they would like to be trying to block this Labour ascension, they are livid that they are having to fight so hard to defend seats that they already hold: Polsloe and Pinhoe. I believe that as a result of a poor strategy and their arrogance in wanting to defend their own councillors above all else, Exeter will be a fully-functioning Labour administration on May 4th. Whatever individual battles Exeter Tories may win, they are about to lose the war.

In Pinhoe, they are desperate. At the last election, despite it being 2010 when the coalition government was still in its honeymoon period and Labour still widely disliked, Pinhoe elected a Labour councillor. Most recently, the Tories have taken to putting out a leaflet from Cllr Cynthia Thompson that does not carry ANY Conservative branding. Why? What are they afraid of? Or, what are they ashamed of?

Under pressure: Exeter Tories, like Cameron, are feeling
the strain

At the first sign of a failing Tory national government, Exeter Tories drop their association with national Conservatism. they know that their government is deeply unpopular. They know that NHS reform, millionaires' tax cuts, Granny tax, pasty tax, fuel strike chaos, police cuts, rising crime, high unemployment, a Home Secretary who doesn't even know what day of the week it is, and now a Culture Secretary "in bed" with the Murdochs does not reflect well. So much so, Cllr Thompson's newsletter practically BEGS people not to vote on national issues. "You cannot change the government," she wrote, "or affect what is happening nationally..." This is a Tory Porkie, as we have seen before. 

This leaflet made its way into homes around the Whipton area last weekend, deliveries supported by imported volunteers (ironic, I know) from Conservative Associations in East Devon and Torbay. 

Proud of MY Party. Out in Pinhoe with Ben and
former councillor Val Dixon

Last night was calling on the doors of Summerway, and went to call on Mr & Mrs E. As Mr E  opened the door, he was wearing a Welsh rugby shirt - always a good sign when you're a Labour candidate! Yet as I introduced myself he looked at me with some coolness and bemusement. When I had finished, he said "You're the one that lives in Weymouth, are you?"
"No, " I replied, "I live in Exeter. I moved here over 3 years ago. I've been working in the charity sector in Exeter for over 6 years." I was beginning to smell a rat.
"I had your opponents here at the weekend," he said, "They said how could you do anything for us when you live in Weymouth?"
"They said I am living in Weymouth now?" I wanted to clarify this. I could barely believe what I was hearing.
"Yes," he re-asserted. 


Fortunately, I was able to set the record straight, and Mr E was livid that he had been misled. "You ought to go after her for that," said Mr Evans, "that's not right saying stuff like that. They should be ashamed."
Indeed.
When I asked others in Summerway, and later Warwick Way, they confirmed they had been told the same thing.
How sad. 

Labour councillors keep things positive and
get things done.

On the plus side, I think most people see through all this. Local residents have spoken to me and my team and have commented on our Election Address leaflets, praising Exeter Labour for keeping away from negative campaigning and personal attacks. We campaign on what we have done, and can do. What we can achieve with and for people for their communities, not attacking others. 


We know, and demonstrate, that councillors need to be community leaders - and that means modelling the standards that local voters expect. Telling the truth, surely, is one of the most important of those standards.

On May 3rd