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Organising the Liberal Democrats for the District Council Polling Day and winning two more seats in a heat wave and narrowly missing a third! Then taking the radio and newspaper journalists, pasting results slips on poster boards and hosting the volunteers and celebrating the result.
With 5198 seats being contested in 201 local authorities, the Labour Party won about 300 local government seats and control of 11 councils including Bradford, but the Tories held on to Westminster and Wandsworth and Labour did less well in the left-wing London Boroughs. The Liberal Democrats held on to most of their 1986 seats, winning 144 more and losing 192 to give the clear message that we are back as the third force in British politics. UK government at last considering direct talks on the fate of the UK hostages, Nato has backed a US proposal to abolish the remaining land-based US missiles in Europe despite Thatcher being unhappy about it and her privatization of the electricity industry is encountering difficulties
Yet another hot and dry day, but this time the weather is suiting us by helping to get our supporters out. They are traditionally more easily put off by bad weather compared with the Tories. Up quite early to do my chores and get my papers and other things together. I was to perform the role of roaming election co-ordinator today which meant that I had to drive around the District, keep in touch with all three target wards with my mobile telephone and move resources about if necessary, to secure results. I started my day at the Great Paxton Polling Booth where we were expecting trouble from the other side over our plan to collect questionnaires for the Survey. It had been the lead story in the Hunts Post today, as the Tory agents had objected to our conducting the campaign in this way. In the event, we did not get too much trouble and I was able to leave them within half an hour or so.
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Canvassing in Bury and erecting poster boards with Jack Taylor’s boy on the very sunny and warm Eve of Poll and then helping them to complete their Polling Day Organisation, thanking the family offering their house as our local Committee Room before noticing the boards now missing in Great Paxton. Nationally, the Tories bracing themselves for losses of seats and councils but hoping to hold on to their "Flagships" where very low Poll Tax levels have been set and supported by central government grants.
Released US hostage, Frank Reed, speaks of having recently seen UK hostages John McCarthy and Brian Keenan; President de Klerk and Nelson Mandela start talks on the ending of Apartheid and The Bank of England injected £250million of extra liquidity into the City of London yesterday as robbers held a city messenger at knife-point and made off with certificates of deposit worth £292million! Gilt-edged stocks are at a cyclical low with no buy recommendations
A warm night and a warm day to follow, with the heat of the air and sun quite exhausting. After tending the conservatory and fish, I went over to Bury with Michael Pope to do some canvassing with Carole Crompton. We canvassed a number of the roads, particularly concentrating on the potential sites for poster-boards as the village of Bury has got very few up compared with Wistow. We worked hard in the hot weather until quite late, before leaving Carole to carry on in the afternoon. I dropped of Michael, came home and made a few plans for election day before leaving for Cambridge to collect another 100 posters for Carole. I then drove straight back to Warboys and got Jack Taylor and his son to help me make up another dozen or so poster boards, pasting on the new posters in the process.
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On another gloriously hot and sunny day, canvassing in Wistow with Carole Crompton, erecting another half dozen flagboards and then resting my poor throat and chest by enjoying a steak sandwich in the Wistow pub. As Percy had enough canvassers this evening, continuing my rest and catching up at home
Another poor night with my throat and chest, but I got up all right on another glorious day. It started misty but that soon cleared to become very hot and sunny. I got the latest statistics from Percy and Jack and then did a few things before setting off in the Range Rover for Bury and Wistow. Carole and I canvassed just about all of the rest of Wistow today and the response was quite good. We soon had permissions enough to put up another half dozen flag-boards and I went and got these, and we erected them in the early afternoon before going to the Wistow pub for a drink and steak sandwich lunch. Then we continued canvassing after lunch and only gave up about 4.30pm.
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