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…

SADIQ KHAN PROPERLY WRITES TO ME. BLIMEY...

Now this is utterly unexpected. I’ll admit I sent a token email to Sadiq Khan’s campaign team with a link to my blog, inviting a response. However, the idea that a front bench government minister (albeit only front bench because the actual Transport Secretary sits in the House of Lords, but still!) would take at least half an hour to personally respond to my little blog post is frankly astonishing. I’m not sure there’s a great deal below to change my mind about the need for a change from Labour (although the Conservatives have proved somewhat unimpressive since my original post) but it does preserve my high opinion of the man himself.


“ Dear Andy,


Thank you for sending me the link to your blog explaining why you’ll be voting Tory (I said I probably would. In reality I’m still pretty much floating! Post on Lib Dems to follow… AW). I do of course respect your decision but I hope you don’t mind if I offer you my take on the matter.


I don’t believe by voting for an MP you are merely voting for a party, let alone that party’s leader.


There is a big difference between a good and a bad local MP and I would urge you not to underestimate the interaction between local and national policy. A good MP can take local issues to a national level and bring national help to a local level. For instance, as you may know, the South West London Law Centre (an invaluable local resource) very nearly had to close last year due to financial difficulties. I helped secure Ministry of Justice funding to prevent this from happening. A good MP can make sure Government is aware of the concerns of their community. For example I have arranged for the Foreign Secretary to meet local Tamil community leaders to hear their concerns about the situation in Sri Lanka. Conversely, do not underestimate the impact a divisive MP can have on a community. I have been unimpressed by the way the local Conservatives have been attacking our local hospital for electoral gain. (See http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/03/12/tories-tall-stories-115875-22105198/)


I’m afraid I’m a bit unclear as to whether you’re advocating a PR system or not. Personally I agree with your first point in this regard - that retaining the constituency link is important. I support holding a referendum on AV, and I believe this would ensure MPs reached out to a much wider proportion of their voters. The Tories have no interest in reforming the voting system.


You say you have become more Conservative as you’ve aged and this is of course your choice. However, I do not agree with what seems to be your characterisation of the Labour party (“calling disagreement hatred”, “the desire to regulate anything that moves”). To me the Labour party has always stood for justice and fairness and, as a former Labour voter, I assume this has some resonance with you. When I have supported measures in Parliament such as the 50p tax rate and a tax on bankers bonuses, this is not because I believe that wealth is “inherently bad” as you put it. Rather, I believe that in these difficult economic times progressive taxation is the fairest way forward. I do not think that inheritance and marriage tax breaks are a priority.


Assuming the things you list as Labour achievements indicate what you consider to be important, I am surprised you are considering voting Conservative. Labour has guaranteed to protect the policing and schools budget. The Tories have not. It is worth remembering the Tory legacy. By the end of the last Conservative Government health spending as a share of national income was the second lowest of all the major industrialised countries, and the aid budget had been halved.


Thank you for taking the time to listen to my point of view. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.


Yours sincerely,


Sadiq.


P.S You mention my expenses in your blog. I have always been open and honest regarding my expenses, publishing details on my website before the Telegraph scandal broke. As a new MP in 2005, with a new team of staff, I did make a genuine mistake in claiming for cards. I paid back the money, without being asked to do so, as soon as it was brought to my attention.”