A NIGHT AT THE HUSTINGS...

Last night saw our local candidates go head to head in St Nick’s, Tooting for a church-organised hustings in this most open of elections. Well, at least, that was the theory. But let’s start with the major disappointment – Sadiq Khan didn’t show, instead sending Rex Osborn, a local Labour councillor, in his place. This entirely denied the 100-ish present a heavyweight clash and utterly flattened the field for Conservative Mark Clarke. The Liberal Democrat candidate Nasser Butt was present but, with all due respect, it seems his party has (understandably given prior performance) decided not to seriously contest the seat. Butt was an amiable chap, but often failed to grasp the gist of questions asked and gave a shambling performance rather bringing to mind Mr Bean. Cleggmania seems somewhat redundant in SW17… Add this to the fact Councillor Harmon really wasn’t trying to play the part of a candidate – not bothering to stand to answer and saying literally half as much as either of the others – and you are essentially left with the Mark Clarke show.

And it was an impressive show. This guy has been groomed for these moments. He was selected three years ago and moved then back to the area, given time to lead local campaigns and become a champion of the people. It’s cynical in a way – but strangely flattering that Tooting is deemed so important (according to Clarke in conversation afterwards, everyone from CNN to Al-Jazeera are scheduled to be present there for election night – his party have never taken the seat before and it may go down to the last vote!) – and I have personally reaped the benefit of it; Clarke having played a lead role in taking on the infamous Soma Café, next door to my flat. Clarke is a smooth politician; he sussed the audience in a way neither of the others came close to – with an overwhelmingly Christian audience, there were easy ovations to be gained by going hard on abortion, favouring freedom of speech and defending Christian heritage. He brought them home with ease.

Most impressive, however, was Clarke’s contribution to the Health debate. I asked the prompting question, one reflecting on the strengths and issues encountered during my wife’s brain surgery at St. George’s last year, and asking how money would find its way to front line services and staff. Butt’s answer was lame and ill-informed. Osborn went, as I’d expect, down the route of strongly defending St George’s as a great hospital and a privilege we should appreciate. This was more cynical than it sounds – designed to capitalise on recent news stories accusing Clarke of having exaggerated and scaremongered in undermining the hospital for political capital. But Clarke is way above mere gestures on this. He has been showing up to board meetings at St. George’s since arriving in the area. He is an ambassador for Tory’s famous ‘efficiency savings’, having seen the hospital board double in size and award themselves pay rises – NHS Wandsworth in one case paying £750,000 to an individual for an 8-month management contract. By his own admission, the board ‘hate’ him for these observations and he has evidence they themselves leaked the story of his ‘attacks’ on the hospital to the press. But he is in no way an enemy of NHS front-line services; his wife and mother both working in local hospitals. This was clearly his field of expertise and I would have loved to see him lock horns with Sadiq Khan over it.

Which brings us to the other refreshing thing about Clarke. There was a total absence of negative campaigning from him – another calculation for the benefit of the Christian audience? Possibly, but I get the feeling he and Khan are actually pretty good mates outside of election season. He referred to his rival as a ‘local champion’, an ‘exceptional MP’ and, in conversation, even a ‘role model’ to follow if he takes the seat. This goes way beyond mere platitudes.

In fact, I thought the worst thing Clarke did at any stage was to summarise by reminding everyone it was really about David Cameron. This was surely an outdated move, lacking recognition of the poor campaign his leader is having, and the electoral turn-off he’s becoming. After a performance as good as this, the last thing Clarke needed to do was remind us of his bewildered boss. You can bet ‘Gordon Brown’ would have been as unlikely a closing thought from Khan in this company as would ‘socialism’. In fact Cameron is the biggest threat faced by the Tories in Tooting – another poor debate by him tonight and you have to imagine the swing required to deliver Tooting might be gone for good. And it truly has been a poor campaign by the Tories on the whole – when was the last time you heard mention of the ‘Big Society’ presented with great fanfare at the manifesto launch? It already seems like yesterday’s news… (although the policy of parent-owned schools was raised last night – the test case will be up the road in Battersea).

So, where do I now stand? Well, locally Mark Clarke has won me over (and if he does win, you’ll soon hear plenty more of him), and the Lib Dems don’t factor. Which is something of a shame, as nationally the Conservatives are having a ‘mare and there is the prospect of real Lib Dem-propelled excitement. Still, it’s no done deal – I’ve very much enjoyed my ‘floating’ status in a marginal seat this time around. I’ve had a long email from one heavyweight candidate and a long conversation with the other. I’m running a school election launching on Monday, and more people than you might imagine are reading the blog! I’m well aware I’m unlikely to see another election like this one so I’ll continue to enjoy it while it lasts…

WHY I'M (PROBABLY) VOTING CONSERVATIVE. GULP...

‘Private school teacher from Surrey votes Tory’ is hardly likely to make the front pages. However, it will be enough of a shock to most who know me and it will certainly be the first time it’s happened. It will also make me rather unusual even among those few who have voted for all three main parties in general elections (I was always a Labour supporter but voted tactically for the Lib Dems in Epsom & Ewell as the supposed closest opposition) - ‘floating voters’ are traditionally fairly disinterested, which I am clearly not. So why?

1.      Time for a Change: The phrase may be familiar! But it’s true. First and foremost, Brown must go and Labour need a spell out of power. Even if the two lead parties were exactly the same (and, post-Blair, I think we’ll see this as increasingly untrue), it would be worth ditching the incumbent just purely for a change. Anybody retaining power for too long will become corrupted and bloated by it; that’s the repeating story of humanity. New Labour has lost its early reforming zeal and seems to want power for its own sake, doling out daily half-truths to preserve it – change is sometimes a good thing in itself. This country needs a bit of ‘first 100 days’ excitement.  

Furthermore, Brown really doesn’t deserve another term. This is true on his helmsmanship at the Treasury alone. I get angry when he tries to take credit for handling the recession. Truth is, he was the Chancellor who sold our gold and plundered pensions when times were good. Even in those years he borrowed rather than saved and left nothing for a rainy day. He congratulated risk in the City and, even when later bailing out banks, required no commitment that interest cuts be passed on or mortgages made accessible. He is at least partly responsible for the fact our taxes go primarily towards interest payments on debt increasing by £500 million a day.

National not local: I have always spoken well of my local MP Sadiq Khan. He’s done nothing to spoil that as far as I’m concerned (although there is bad press rearing its head as I write regarding a dodgy expenses claim). I’m not alone – he’s been recognised as a fine and devoted Parliamentarian with awards from the Spectator, Guardian, Channel 4 and New Statesman. One of my first posts on this blog was regarding the dilemma faced when wanting to vote for a good local MP, but wanting to remove his party. Well, I’ve done my homework. Well, when faced with national vs. constituency considerations in voting, national has to win. We have local councillors responsible for local issues – potholes, licensing, parking and refuse collection; those are elected separately at local elections.  An MP however is for Westminster – they are primarily foot soldiers for their respective party – ordered by the Whips to toe the line and to vote as instructed from the top. Therefore, despite all the letterbox propaganda, there is a limit to what they can do for us acting as individuals. The party on the slip is more important than the name – an MP’s primary significance lies in them being part of a majority (or minority) party in the House of Commons.

That’s not to reject the local link altogether- I don’t back PR systems wherein MPs are chosen from a list, abandoning constituency accountability. It is important to have one member of Parliament whom you can approach knowing he’s bound to listen – he has a office here whereas the Prime Minister doesn’t. It’s important to have someone in Westminster lobbying on behalf of your community, and someone with clout flagging up important issues within that community. And that can make a specific difference for an area: I was hearing over lunch yesterday how much Chris Grayling has done to personally lead (and even fund) the campaign to save Epsom Hospital; I mentioned in the last post that Siobhain McDonough used her influence in Westminster to secure two new academy schools for her Mitcham & Morden constituency. Similarly, Sadiq Khan has worked within the Transport Department to expand the Oyster scheme, knowing this is specifically beneficial to those in Tooting. But, his concerns and his work remain primarily national in scope. And, ultimately, his career prospects are dependent on his impressing Brown, not on his representing Tooting residents. A vote for Khan IS a vote for Brown.

Electoral System: I’m not saying there’s anyone offering much better than the Tories in the current mess (there’s a great article on one of the blogs showing ‘Word Clouds’ made of the 3 leaders’ speeches so far – Nick Clegg’s 2 largest words are ‘Labour and ‘Conservative’!), but under a PR system I’d certainly take a look around. However, nationally and locally, Conservatives are the only realistic opposition if I want to be rid of Labour. Therefore it’s them I’ll vote for. I would love it to be the case that my vote counted, whoever I voted for. I’ll love a real debate on Proportional Representation.  People rail about the undesirability of coalition governments, bringing up Italian examples or 1970s scare stories. But it’s worked well in Scotland and Wales. North of the border, where the SNP lead with only 47 of the 129 seats, every policy to pass (and 9 out of 10 do) has found its majority via compromise and tinkering in meetings – an air of consensus results, and even the 2 Green MPs have their day in the sun! (They recently sunk the annual budget due to an unwillingness to drop road expansion schemes!). Meanwhile there has never been a Parliament offering a worse advert for ‘strong’ government than the current UK Labour administration. There’s has been a callous disregard for the wishes of others, the government convinced they know best regardless; be it over human rights, banks or the EU. Bring in PR, and see voter turnout rise through the roof as people are re-enfranchised...

I am becoming more conservative: The truth is this development hasn’t come out of nowhere. I am not a textbook conservative – I’m too keen on multi-culturalism for that - but I have nevertheless become more conservative as I’ve aged. It’s clearly true: I don’t like the nanny state and the desire to regulate anything that moves. I don’t like the idea that wealth is inherently bad and to be penalised with ‘Robin Hood’ economics (although I REALLY don’t like the idea that the wealthy should avoid paying their fair share by lurking in tax havens). I loathe the tide of political correctness that supports affirmative action, penalises Freedom of Speech and calls disagreement hatred. I’m also at a loss as to the destructive behaviour of many unions (and the nonsense my own comes up with) and worried by their growing influence.

Yes I will defend aspects of New Labour – the investment in education has made a difference (although not as much as you’d imagine looking at the staggering spending), waiting lists and crime are genuinely down, Britain has taken a lead in overseas aid, Sure Start is a good idea, as are academies, a good start has been made on constitutional reform... but I’m not sure Labour is any longer my natural home, nor that I’ll return.

So there you go – I’m holding my breath and crossing the Tory box. Unless something happens on the campaign trail and I change my mind again! Either way, you can’t accuse me of failing to think it through! Oh and the picture is of Mark Clarke - a good egg and the actual Tory for whom I will vote in Tooting. I haven't mentioned him yet!