The day producing and delivering press releases after yesterday’s elections and conducting debriefings with candidates and organisers, concluding that our lack of resource in Great Paxton Abbotsley and Waresley had hindered us, but that the decline county-wide of Democrat support was the main reason for our narrow defeats.
This was very much the morning after the night before. Tired, disappointed but not put out, I worked with Percy to design and then paste the results slip onto his poster boards. Poor Michael Pope had succumbed to one of his migraine attacks and so I also produced a press release and, with Percy, got it round to the local newspapers. I collected up some of the local flag boards that we did not put the result slips on. I wandered around quite a bit and had a long telephone calls with Des Merrill and others. Des had left the count early to be with his family and they were disappointed with his children particularly so.
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I had re-started the swimming pool and now had to clean and attend it; as well as the ducks, doves and Koi carp – not to mention the plants. The water was heating up nicely and the weather remained hot like yesterday. I had concluded that we had conceded Great Paxton, Abbotsley and Waresley too readily in the campaign, through lack of helpers and canvas resource. We also failed entirely to see the Green threat both before and during the election campaign. Des had lost virtually all of the votes in the Mundine Gardens and other areas close to the potential development, due to the anti-Des Merrill movement and had not proved such a popular local candidate after all. In fact, Percy seemed to poll equivalent numbers there. The Tories have some hold on their members which were quite numerous in these parts. They also worked very hard and had a full ‘general election’-type organisation action. Rather depressing day, particularly as the national picture for the Democrats was so much bad news. Dr David’s continuing SDP was even worse affected with no gains and many losses