Some more thanks

Over the last few days, it has been heartening to have received so many messages of support and encouragement from friends, party supporters and even people who had wanted to support MK but chose to vote tactically (more on that later).

I have spoken to MK members throughout Cornwall and they are upbeat and passionate about continuing our work for a better deal for Cornwall.

I have certainly been very upfront about the election and I have done nothing to hide my disappointment at my own result.

But as Loveday Jenkin has pointed out on behalf of MK, our members found considerable goodwill for our party and support for our policies – such as fair funding for Cornwall.

And though this did not materialise into a large increase in our vote, with many people voting ‘tactically,’ we will be taking many positives from the experience and building on the goodwill we have found.

I, for one, am already ready for the next campaign!

A very disappointing result

The result for the St Austell and Newquay Constituency was announced in the very early hours of this morning, at about 6.10am. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Stephen Gilbert, while I polled a total of 2,007 votes (4.2% of those cast). I came fourth, ahead of the UKIP and BNP candidates.

I polled well throughout the Parish of St Enoder, which I represent on Cornwall Council, as well as St Dennis, no doubt due to my ongoing work against the proposed incinerator.

Since then, I have had a little sleep. I spent the afternoon out with my wife and I am now in a position to comment on the result.

The laws of political spin instruct me to point out that my result is the best General Election result achieved by an MK candidate, as we have never before polled over two thousand votes in such a contest.

But to be brutally honest, I am extremely disappointed with the result. I was pretty gutted last night.

I fought a very positive campaign, focussing on a range of important political issues and my track record as a local councillor and a campaigner for Cornwall. Obviously, I did not expect to win. But during the campaign, the feedback was truly excellent and even my opponents commented on the number of people who were planning to vote for MK. There was also a widespread expectation among my opponents and political commentators that MK could achieve a very creditable third place.

Sadly, this was not to be. My vote was squeezed by a concerted “MK vote is a wasted vote” campaign by the Lib Dems and I can only speculate that the focus on the three main party leaders and the race to be Prime Minister also lead many people to revert to their traditional voting patterns at the last minute.

It is clear that MK votes were squeezed throughout Cornwall, which shows we still have a major credibility issue with voters in parliamentary elections. Many people vote for MK candidates in local elections, but fail to support us in General Elections because they believe we cannot win.

This is an issue of strategy that we will need to address as a Party in the coming weeks and months as we look to continue our campaigns for a better deal for Cornwall.

At this point, I would like to thank everyone who helped with the campaign and the 2,007 people who backed me with their votes. I am most grateful for your support.

Leafletgate - the final postings

Over the length of the election campaign, I have received a number of leaflets from my political opponents. The vast majority were, once again, printed outside of Cornwall.

I have received an addressed mailing from the Lib Dems – it was printed in Bristol. My wife and I also received a direct mailing from the Lib Dems telling us, amongst other things, not to vote MK. This one was printed in London and was accompanied by a further risographed sheet.

Three leaflets arrived from the Tories. Two addressed mailings printed in Guildford and a newspaper hand-delivered to my home – this one was printed in Surrey. I was not pleased to see this newssheet, as my photograph was featured in it without permission.

My parents meanwhile received a further leaflet from the Tories that had been printed in St Austell.

For the other candidates, the Labour leaflet came from Essex, the BNP one from Nuneaton while the UKIP leaflet came from Bodmin!

MK election materials were meanwhile printed in Lostwithiel, St Austell and Falmouth. You can always trust us to support Cornish businesses.

Incinerator latest

It is the day before the election and Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have been criss-crossing the UK today, seeking out every last vote.

By contrast, I have been in Fraddon all day at the Public Inquiry into the incinerator. Today’s witness for SITA covered landscape issues, who I cross-examined for an hour at the end of the day.

I focused part of my cross-examination on the fact that the Waste Disposal Authority had decided to develop the Parkandillick site as early as the middle of 2005, almost 12 months before the Council agreed the Contract and a long, long time before they had the decency to speak to local people.

Tomorrow the next witness will concentrate on historic environment issues. I will be cross-examining again.

The debates

Last week was also pretty busy. Four debates, a number of Council meetings and plenty of leafleting.

The first debate was for Radio Cornwall. It was recorded at the Eden Project on Monday and broadcast the following Wednesday. I was happy with how it went and I was treated as an equal with the other candidates. There was only one question that the UKIP candidate and I were not asked to answer, though sadly, other MK candidates feel they were not treated as well in the constituency debates which took place elsewhere in Cornwall.

At Eden, the politically-balanced audience was very active. Sitting to my left was a phalanx of about ten Conservatives with a similar-sized Lib Dem phalanx to the right. Each time their candidates spoke they bellowed out their approval, while their opponents sat silent. At times, the pantomime jeering and cheering merged into one noise. All great fun.

On Tuesday, I took part in a live television ‘town hall debate’ for the St Austell and Newquay seat, which was broadcast on BBC News 24. Initially, I was not invited to take part and had to lobby hard to be allowed to participate. I was allowed to play a full part in the debate and, from the feedback I have received, it appears that the debate went well for me.

Sadly, I was not treated with the same respect by BBC Spotlight. They also did a feature from Newquay that same day, but only included the candidates from the three main London parties. I have received numerous comments from people about how unfair this was.

Surely by co-incidence, it was at this point that William Hill cut my odds to 12/1.

Debate three was arranged by Churches Together in St Austell. Another enjoyable affair, it featured a wide range of topics such as the economy, housing and education, covered in the earlier debates. There was a large audience of about 70 or 80, who took an active role in the proceedings.

Debate four was at the Keay Theatre and organised by the PCS Union. Caroline Righton was not present, though the BNP candidate did turn up (without an invitation). The meeting was delayed until the Police arrived and, at the Union’s request, the BNP candidate was escorted off the premises.

I thoroughly enjoyed this final debate and found myself in agreement with the audience of about 30 who were very concerned about the need to protect public services.

All in all a good week for the campaign. It was a great pleasure to visit many places across the Constituency, including own Parish, St Dennis, Quintrell Downs, Newquay and St Austell. It was also pleasing to meet many people who were supportive of my campaign, some of whom had already voted by post and many others who were still considering voting for MK.