I've been to Hull and back...

The singularly gentle delights of Harrogate left behind us, our next stop was Hull. Our journey took us through Leeds, Ros's third visit that day, and it has to be admitted that the seemingly never ending travel is proving a mite more difficult than I had expected but, given the hard work that I see being done everywhere, it is well worthwhile.

I'd never been to Hull before, but remember the old jokes - you can tell Hull's dead, it's so well laid out - but the Liberal Democrat administration is enthusiastic and that energy is demonstrated by the vigour with which they are taking it to a Labour Party whose fondness of grandiose, irrelevant projects and utter inability to provide services have left them vulnerable. We went out with a large team of canvassers and found a warm welcome on the doorstep. 

Our next stop was to the Pearson Park mosque, where we met with community leaders. In cities such as Hull, where ethnic minority populations are relatively small, the role of something like a mosque is very important as a focal point, not just for religious practice, but for linking minority groups to the wider community. Providing assistance to those in need, pointing them towards facilities, these are important in allowing incomers to avoid isolation.

And it is at times like this that the casual multi-culturalism of my childhood comes into its own. I asked about the importance of the mosque as a factor in attracting Muslim students to the city's university. And indeed, given that the two Hull mosques serve a large hinterland stretching far beyond the city itself, there is a regional dimension to their work. 

There are also issues related to dialogue between the mosque and council officers unused to dealing with religious communities, let alone Islamic ones, and the strength of our local government family means that there is plenty of knowledge to be drawn upon for any council group forming an administration. The evening ended with dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant with our PPC, Denis Healy and some of his campaign team before being dropped off at the hotel.