Sunday 4 April 2010

Down memory Lane (4)

I like this topic. It enables me to write partisan, biased or non-objective opinions on anything!

For many years elections have fascinated me. I have been a candidate at parish, borough and county council elections, an election agent, party worker or an interested spectator. A few incidents:

1. Seeing and hearing Hugh Gaitskell, Leader of the Labour Party, being booed at Edwinstowe by Bevanite Nottinghamshire coalminers.

2. Hearing Bessie Braddock MP, a Liverpool Labour Party matriarch, speak at an election meeting at the Stratford-upon-Avon by-election called after the resignation of John Profumo. Meeting Andew Faulds, the Labour candidate and Pratap Chitnis who master-minded the Liberal Party's electioneering.

3. Attending a Liberal Party conference in Scarborough and hearing a rousing speech from the then leader, Jo Grimond.

4. Enjoying the hustings in 'Slab Square' in Nottingham.

5. Watching on television the annual conferences of the Labour Party, with its composite motions, card votes and major rows. Sadly the conferences now are merely PR shows.

6. Ditto Conservative conferences, which whilst the voting process was somewhat different, often produced public character assassinations and back stabbing. Great fun.

7. Listening to the opinions of the representatives of parties on election night television programmes. No matter how bad the results might be for a party, its representative always manages to find some statistical comfort to put a gloss on the disaster that has befallen the party.

8. Attending election counts, getting close to the 'enemy', the booing and cheering when results are announced and the drivel in the post declaration speeches.

No comments:

Post a Comment