Copeland

[Deleted]

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

[carlton43]

Jan 1, 2017 15:00:58 GMT joe said:

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

Most of us I hope?
Looking inwards through windows, I was brought up to know, is the grossest perversion and intrusion.

[Jack]

Jan 1, 2017 15:00:58 GMT joe said:

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

I haven't, because I'm not a Peeping Joe.

[finsobruce]

Jan 1, 2017 14:11:59 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Jan 1, 2017 11:38:54 GMT finsobruce said:

Have you ever canvassed a wake/funeral gathering? Awkward,but they were very nice about it.

I had one canvassing experience that still makes me groan in anguish when I think of it. The moral of the story, which I offer to supporters of all parties: always look properly at who you are addressing before you open your mouth.

One dark evening I was doing the rounds in Forest Gate. I had pushed a doorbell and there was a short delay, though sounds from within indicated that somebody was around. As I waited, I was scribbling away at my notes and, when the door opened, didn't immediately look up, but was vaguely aware of a diminutive figure standing in front of me. I said in that sing-song voice one uses to children: "Hello! Is your daddy or mummy there?". Too late I lifted my gaze and saw that the person I addressed was a dwarf, a middle-aged woman. She was not amused.

Now there's a coincidence.... I did exactly the same thing canvassing in Wood Green about twenty five years ago.

[Deleted]

Jan 1, 2017 15:32:03 GMT finsobruce said:

Jan 1, 2017 14:11:59 GMT @goodoldcause said:

I had one canvassing experience that still makes me groan in anguish when I think of it. The moral of the story, which I offer to supporters of all parties: always look properly at who you are addressing before you open your mouth.

One dark evening I was doing the rounds in Forest Gate. I had pushed a doorbell and there was a short delay, though sounds from within indicated that somebody was around. As I waited, I was scribbling away at my notes and, when the door opened, didn't immediately look up, but was vaguely aware of a diminutive figure standing in front of me. I said in that sing-song voice one uses to children: "Hello! Is your daddy or mummy there?". Too late I lifted my gaze and saw that the person I addressed was a dwarf, a middle-aged woman. She was not amused.

Now there's a coincidence.... I did exactly the same thing canvassing in Wood Green about twenty five years ago.

That I'm not the only person in the history of the world to have done this makes me feel a bit better, though it was the poor woman I felt bad about.

[finsobruce]

Jan 1, 2017 15:37:08 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Jan 1, 2017 15:32:03 GMT finsobruce said:

Now there's a coincidence.... I did exactly the same thing canvassing in Wood Green about twenty five years ago.

That I'm not the only person in the history of the world to have done this makes me feel a bit better, though it was the poor woman I felt bad about.

luckily the voter in this case thought it was worthy of a chuckle and I was probably helped by the fact that I still looked young enough that she could put it down to  my being an inexperienced nerk.

[froome]

Jan 1, 2017 15:32:03 GMT finsobruce said:

Jan 1, 2017 14:11:59 GMT @goodoldcause said:

I had one canvassing experience that still makes me groan in anguish when I think of it. The moral of the story, which I offer to supporters of all parties: always look properly at who you are addressing before you open your mouth.

One dark evening I was doing the rounds in Forest Gate. I had pushed a doorbell and there was a short delay, though sounds from within indicated that somebody was around. As I waited, I was scribbling away at my notes and, when the door opened, didn't immediately look up, but was vaguely aware of a diminutive figure standing in front of me. I said in that sing-song voice one uses to children: "Hello! Is your daddy or mummy there?". Too late I lifted my gaze and saw that the person I addressed was a dwarf, a middle-aged woman. She was not amused.

Now there's a coincidence.... I did exactly the same thing canvassing in Wood Green about twenty five years ago.

I've done something similar. Having been canvassing all evening, it was starting to get dark around 9pm when I knocked on a door and a small woman came to the door. I was very tired and obviously not in top form, as before I could stop myself, I asked her if her parents were in. Fortunately she was understanding, and turned out to be one of our voters.

[Deleted]

Jan 1, 2017 15:00:58 GMT joe said:

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

Also while I was canvassing, a teenage boy answered the door to me stark naked (I chose to assume I had interrupted his ablutions, though I suppose there are other possibilities). He opened the door a crack and gingerly peeped out - seemingly oblivious of the fact that it was a glass door.

To digress momentarily, I myself once had an experience like something out of an anxiety dream. I used to live in a ground-floor apartment in the Ham Common Flats in Richmond (a listed modernist estate designed in the 1950s by Stirling and Gowan). One day in September I rose rather late, and wandered naked into the kitchen, where I heard a subdued murmuring of voices outside. We were often bothered by intruders so, forgetting my condition, I pulled up the blinds to give them a piece of my mind. Outside my window was a party of about 30 people from the Twentieth Century Society, who were there for London Open House. As the window was above the level of the kitchen units, it could have been worse, but they appeared almost as disconcerted as me. It was a bit like the scene with Graham Chapman in "The Life of Brian".

EDIT:

[carlton43]

When I was canvassing in Barons Court for Carr in 64GE (Ivor Richard won)the door to a flat was opened by a young man wearing only a pair of tights rather well hand-painted with peacocks with two friends behind him wearing rather less. There was a bit of quite clever and very camp badinage between them resulting in an invitation in for a cocktails and discussion, during which they promised to vote Conservative if I consented to have my nails painted bright green by them. I still cannot believe that I consented to this much to the outrage and amusement of the rest of the mutual-aiders on the bus back to Maidstone. My parents were a bit alarmed and had certain fears for a while. I had no girl friend. A female colleague at work took pity on me and used her remover on them at lunch-break in the girls loo, after a rather cutting remark by the Office Accountant that had made me blush. The things one does for the party!

[finsobruce]

Jan 1, 2017 16:23:38 GMT carlton43 said:

When I was canvassing in Barons Court for Carr in 64GE (Ivor Richard won)the door to a flat was opened by a young man wearing only a pair of tights rather well hand-painted with peacocks with two friends behind him wearing rather less. There was a bit of quite clever and very camp badinage between them resulting in an invitation in for a cocktails and discussion, during which they promised to vote Conservative if I consented to have my nails painted bright green by them. I still cannot believe that I consented to this much to the outrage and amusement of the rest of the mutual-aiders on the bus back to Maidstone. My parents were a bit alarmed and had certain fears for a while. I had no girl friend. A female colleague at work took pity on me and used her remover on them at lunch-break in the girls loo, after a rather cutting remark by the Office Accountant that had made me blush. The things one does for the party!

If anyone can top that Carlton, I'd be very surprised...

Perhaps we should have a canvassing stories thread for all of these? Or is there already one buried somewhere?

[neilm]

Jan 1, 2017 15:00:58 GMT joe said:

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

I was canvassing in Prince Rock, Plymouth and heard a shout of 'go down on me, bitch!'

[finsobruce]

Jan 2, 2017 0:13:55 GMT neilm said:

Jan 1, 2017 15:00:58 GMT joe said:

Who hasn't walked passed a window and noticed some ahem... Intimacy.

I was canvassing in Prince Rock, Plymouth and heard a shout of 'go down on me, bitch!'

The electorate are getting more demanding all the time aren't they?

[thirdchill]

Jan 2, 2017 0:25:28 GMT finsobruce said:

Jan 2, 2017 0:13:55 GMT neilm said:

I was canvassing in Prince Rock, Plymouth and heard a shout of 'go down on me, bitch!'

The electorate are getting more demanding all the time aren't they?

How low would a candidate stoop though?

[andrew111]

Latest YouGov poll confirms the last one with a 15% Tory lead and a 3% swing from Lab to LD since a month ago. Opinium poll was clearly a plain wrong outlier... Tories seem keen and hitting the ground running in Copeland while Labour are arguing about whether they should have a Corbynite candidate or not... Lib Dems will get a significant vote in the Allerdale part of Copeland, and more than 3.5% everywhere else where getting a Lib Dem leaflet will be a lifetime novelty... I have just doubled the number of votes for a Tory majority of more than 2.5% to 2

My guess:
Tory 38% (+2.2%
Lab 35% (-7.3%)
UKIP 14% (-1.5%)
Lib Dem 10% (+6.5%)
Green 2% (-1%)
Random candidates 1%

[andrew111]

9 votes for Labour increasing their majority! Triumph of hope over expectation?

[Khunanup]

Jan 1, 2017 11:38:54 GMT finsobruce said:

Jan 1, 2017 2:59:07 GMT Khunanup said:

Quite, I've campaigned quite a bit over the years on the middle days and either it's 'I'm sorry I've got family round' or 'Lovely to see you, how committed, how much time have you got'.

Once in all that time have I had someone outraged that I knocked on their door at that time of year...

Have you ever canvassed a wake/funeral gathering? Awkward,but they were very nice about it.

Yes, and ditto.

I've also canvassed an elderly chap who's wife had passed away the night before. It was about two weeks before and election and his main concern when I called was that her postal vote needed sending back as she wouldn't be able to use it. He was grateful for the call to clear up what he needed to do and for the condolences.

[La Fontaine]

West Cumbria Momentum were holding a meeting in Whitehaven on Wednesday evening. They were expecting 11 to attend. I think the chances of an identifiably Corbynite candidate must be very small. I expect Labour to win with a small majority.
Meanwhile, McCluskey seems to be preparing to pull the plug on Corbyn, if you can believe what he says.

[gwynthegriff]

Well, I've done some number crunching and come up with:

Con 11,961
Lab 10,890
UKIP 3,704
LD 2,917
Gn 1,179 (unchanged)

[justin124]

Jan 2, 2017 17:26:12 GMT andrew111 said:

Latest YouGov poll confirms the last one with a 15% Tory lead and a 3% swing from Lab to LD since a month ago. Opinium poll was clearly a plain wrong outlier... Tories seem keen and hitting the ground running in Copeland while Labour are arguing about whether they should have a Corbynite candidate or not... Lib Dems will get a significant vote in the Allerdale part of Copeland, and more than 3.5% everywhere else where getting a Lib Dem leaflet will be a lifetime novelty... I have just doubled the number of votes for a Tory majority of more than 2.5% to 2

My guess:
Tory 38% (+2.2%
Lab 35% (-7.3%)
UKIP 14% (-1.5%)
Lib Dem 10% (+6.5%)
Green 2% (-1%)
Random candidates 1%

I see no evidence that Opinium was an outlier in that its figures are perfectly consistent with its tendency to show a smaller Tory lead than other pollsters.In December YouGov seemed the more dubious pollster having Labour on 25/24% when no other pollster had them lower than 27%. In the past ICM has tended to understate Labour - the only pollster to do so even in 1997. The most recent poll is already two weeks old - and may have been affected by Xmas.

[An Sionnach Flannbhuí]

Jan 1, 2017 16:23:38 GMT carlton43 said:

When I was canvassing in Barons Court for Carr in 64GE (Ivor Richard won)the door to a flat was opened by a young man wearing only a pair of tights rather well hand-painted with peacocks with two friends behind him wearing rather less. There was a bit of quite clever and very camp badinage between them resulting in an invitation in for a cocktails and discussion, during which they promised to vote Conservative if I consented to have my nails painted bright green by them. I still cannot believe that I consented to this much to the outrage and amusement of the rest of the mutual-aiders on the bus back to Maidstone. My parents were a bit alarmed and had certain fears for a while. I had no girl friend. A female colleague at work took pity on me and used her remover on them at lunch-break in the girls loo, after a rather cutting remark by the Office Accountant that had made me blush. The things one does for the party!

But... but...

Oh, the green fingernails and the Withnail-like 60s doped-up shabbiness of it all can be forgiven.

But - mutual aid? I thought that was all meant to be a damnation on David Cameron and his (and it was all his fault, that was established) hollowing-out of the party, rendering it reliant on safe seats helping the weaker. Before December 2005 every Association managed for itself and it was only wicked Cameron who made activists move outside their own constituency. Say it was Cameron's fault, Carlton! There must be a scapegoat, particularly if he's the one who brought the Tory Party kicking & screaming into reality.