I counted them all in and I counted them all out

ANOTHER evening canvassing in Churchinford and another set of issues raised on the doorstep, but this time much more local and more in line with what can be achieved at Taunton Deane Borough Council.
It was also an opportunity to catch up with some old friends, one from my days as vice-chairman of the Taunton Sunday Football League - when I helped the new Churchinford team to join the league - and one from my days providing public relations advice in local government circles.
I had not realise that either of them lived on the estate as I knocked on their doors to introduce myself.
After a few rebuffs, some polite, some less so, it was nice to be greeted by friendly faces and to chat about old times.
I won’t name them, for fear of embarrassing them, as politics can sometimes cause people to change their opinions of others.
I actually have friends from (just about) all political viewpoints and I have no problem with people who do not want to vote for me – even some of my own family would not vote for a Conservative, so I quite understand the feelings.
However, I will be a councillor for them, whether or not they vote for me, and I will still do my best to represent them and take up issues they need resolving.
One common thread this time on the doorsteps was the lack of play facilities for children aged eight years and older.
Yes, there is the sports field where the football club play, but that is a long way out of the village and I certainly would think twice before allowing a nine-year-old to go there on their own or even with another friend.
I was told that several attempts had been made at finding a suitable site for a play facility but all had come to nothing.
Nobody, though, knew why all the efforts to date had failed.
It is something I will certainly be looking into and, starting with the parish council, asking what has been tried, why it did not succeed, and what more can be done.
I regularly ask people what their local concerns are as I chat with them on the doorsteps, and on this occasion I was surprised to find one chap’s concern of the moment was that he did not have any trousers.
Yes, he chatted away in his boxer shorts as he prepared to go out for the evening.
And he threw up a very interesting point about electioneering.
Quite a lot of people do not actually understand what the different councils do. I can explain it when I am talking with people, but for those whom I miss, the leaflets are all about what has been done and what is being promised, but they do not really explain the fundamentals of local government.
It was food for thought and something may have to change with future leaflets to help people understand the differences between the layers of local government.
Unless, of course, the Liberal Democrats get their way and there is only one council and everything will have to be done their way, anyway.
By now, everybody who has requested a postal vote should have received their paperwork and can start to submit their votes.
They will also have received an election address from me in the post at about the same time, which I hope they will read before casting their vote.
There were 142 households in the ward who requested postal votes, which accounts for about 200 voters.
I know, because I counted them, because I had to stick the address labels on 142 envelopes, put stamps on 142 envelopes, and put election addresses in 142 envelopes, as the photograph taken above shows. I counted them all in and I counted them all out as they went into the post box.
It was early morning and I undertook the task before getting down to the rest of the day’s work, which is why I do not look at my best, not that I really have a ‘best’.
Still, I consoled myself with the thought that a few years ago this could have been a photograph of Tony Blair or David Cameron, but then again, perhaps not as they would not have had postal votes in those days – didn’t they have it easy then!

Spanish trawlers, 4x4 taxes, index-linked pensions, and the powers of Deane House

IT is interesting to discover through canvassing and meeting people just how much some voters believe a Taunton Deane councillor can achieve.
The usual issues which come up in the doorstep include Council Tax - “It is too high and keeps going up and we can’t afford it”; the state of the roads – “They (Somerset County Council) keep patching bits where there are potholes but it doesn’t last and they have to keep doing it when they should be resurfacing the whole road”; heavy lorries – “The roads are not good enough standard to take them and they destroy the verges and gouge out the surface”; recycling – “Why can’t we have plastic recycled as well”.
I agree on the Council Tax – I have to pay it as well, and I can only afford it with difficulty – and I point out that they are only paying £1.47 a week to Taunton Deane, while 90p in every £1 goes to the county council, and if you look at the record you see the Conservatives have kept any increases at well below half of the whopping hikes imposed each year when the Liberal Democrats were running the council into the ground.
I agree on the road maintenance, and although it is a matter for the county’s Lib Dems I will be seeking to understand why they throw away money like this instead of doing a decent job first time around which will last. It seems rather like having a leak in your roof and hiring a builder to come and replace a slate, and then getting him back to do another slate, and another, etc, rather than replacing the worn out roof.
I agree on the heavy lorries. It does not make sense to ban the lorries from the Corfe road and then send them up Blagdon Hill when the hill has the same geological profile and weaknesses as they have at Corfe. Why not at least share the burden rather than dump it onto one road.
I agree on the recycling – and take pleasure in telling people “Yes, you can, and cardboard as well.” The pledge is in the leaflets I hand out to residents. When the Conservatives get back in, plastic and cardboard recycling is also coming in. There are, of course, reasons why it has not been done earlier, which my opponents will not explain to you. But if you look what happens with plastic, it is in reality not so green a process when it is recycled. Nevertheless, it is a step we need to take and we can then address the issue of making the process more green.
However, when canvassing in Churchinford, there were a few issues on which I found myself out of my depth.
Yes, I understand them and can discuss them, but there is not a lot I am going to be able to do from the Deane House about taxes on deep sea fishing, nor about the Spanish trawlers which breach European Union fishery laws and pinch UK fish stocks.
And I will not be able to do a great deal about the issue of higher taxes on 4x4 vehicles which many people in the Blackdown ward rely on for transport, especially in the deep of winter.
Nor will I be able to make the Labour Government index-link pensions now instead of 2012 as they say they are going to do.
Neither can I “take the UK out of the EU tomorrow” as many people would wish, including myself.
I also, unfortunately, cannot create more jobs locally in the NHS to help those who have to travel far and wide to find work.
But, yes, I can help to get Tony Blair and Gordon Brown out of office and bring in a change of Government.
Because every vote I receive at the local election on May 3 is a Conservative vote and every one counts towards the opinion polls and forecasts which show David Cameron is going to be the next (elected) Prime Minister.
The more support the Conservatives receive now, the greater will be their support when the General Election comes, as voters will have more confidence in voting Conservative and actually seeing them take power in Westminster.
So, one small vote for me on May 3 is one giant leap forward toward a Conservative Government.

Llama on the loose

AFTER visiting the parish exhibition in Pitminster to show off the plans for the planned new village hall, I was able to put in my longest canvassing stint so far and came across the strangest sight yet - a llama galloping along the road.
I suppose I should not be too surprised, as these days there are all sorts of exotic creatures being reared on the Blackdowns, llamas, alpacas, bison, and so on, as well as more traditional ones returning, like longhorn cattle.
The llama (pictured), though, did catch us unawares as we turned out of one road and must have startled it into galloping toward us.
I jumped out of the car to try to usher it to the side of the road so I could perhaps call the police for advice, and again I was surprised at its turn of speed as it raced past before I could do anything and disappeared around a bend in the distance.
All we could then do was alert a nearby farmer, who had a good idea to whom the animal belonged and promised to pass on the alert.
Earlier, the village hall plans attracted around 100 Pitminster parishioners to the Queens Arms to look at some of the detail of what is being proposed and to have their say on it.
The village hall committee have worked wonders to progress the project and it is a great example of a community working together to achieve something which will bring benefits to many.
There are, naturally, issues about which some people will not be happy, such as the impact of a large new building on nearby residents and it is something which will need to be given some extremely careful consideration.
But the bottom line with the village hall plans is that this is a desperately-needed community facility for which everything possible needs to be done to ensure it is provided.
I was pleased to meet some of the committee members and I am looking forward to being able to do my little bit to help them be successful.
The photo shows me looking at the plans, with in the background Chris Robinson, who used to be the ward councillor and who has played a big part in the community consultation.
The opportunity was also taken at the same time to allow people to have their say on the war memorial issue in Blagdon Hill – should it stay, or should it go?
Quite a lot of comments have been made by people, some in favour of keeping it where it is and perhaps doing more to encourage people to use the area, some wanting it moved to a more accessible location, and some wanting a bit of both with a new memorial in the village while leaving the existing one as it is.
Afterwards, I continued my safari canvassing around some of the more remote areas of the ward, where you drive half-a-mile or more between properties to meet residents who have not seen a local candidate for many years, if ever.
There are as diverse a range of people living on the hills as there are animals being reared on them.
But many of them have shared values and concerns, with worries about how they can afford Council Tax, fear of crime, complaints about the state of the roads and speed of traffic, and delight that the Conservatives are bringing in plastic and cardboard recycling.