Campaign Diary: Day 24 - a well-timed walk around Somersham

The final leaflet was ready, and everyone was set to go. My job was to deliver Somersham, and my preparations were thorough. A Suffolk Links service was arranged for me to deliver me to Somersham and collect me afterwards, I had the leaflets, all that was needed was for me to stick to time. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, and I set off in high-spirits, a small rucksack on my back loaded with leaflets, and a plan.

Somersham is not so big that it can't be delivered by one persistent individual, and because of its layout, you can actually deliver it without ever doubling back upon yourself. And so, starting at Springfield Road, which has about 8% of all the doors in the ward, I set off, talking to residents as I passed by. It was all very pleasant, and people were quite happy to talk, even if I couldn't persuade them to vote for me, and a pleasing number of them were willing to offer me their support.

The view from the end of Chapel Lane,
Somersham. This is not urban
campaigning...

Along Brook Way, past Cherry Tree Cottages and Mill Lane, as far as the Duke of Marlborough I went, sticking leaflets through letterboxes, on to the Baptist Church in Chapel Lane, then Watering Close and Hall Lane, turning back towards the centre of the village.

It was getting increasingly warm, and I was beginning to regret not bringing a hat, but I was still surprisingly fresh. Past the Community Shop, into, and out of Prince's Gardens, on towards the garage, before crossing the road, heading up Church Lane to Black Barn Close and the final stretch up Flowton Road to Park Cottages.

Despite frequent stops to chat, I was making excellent time and finally made it back to the Community Shop, leaflets delivered, with about fifteen minutes to spare. My ride was early, and I was on my way, footsore but happy to have gotten the job done...

Campaign Diary: Day 11 - an unexpected gathering in Somersham

I'm not a big fan of canvassing on a Sunday. It's not because I'm religious, but I do think that Sundays are not necessarily a great time to knock on doors in interrupt what is still seen as a day of rest in some quarters.

That said, leaflet delivery is reasonable, and a gap in our delivery network needed to be filled. And so, Ros, Ben (our Local Party Youth Representative and a former member of the UK Youth Parliament) and I headed to Somersham to do some light delivering - I need the steps anyway, and I might as well do something useful whilst getting them.

The main core of Somersham is pretty compact, and I was making good time when my mobile rang. Ben had run into a group of people outside Somersham Baptist Church, and someone wanted to talk to me. So, I headed over, only to discover that the Baptist Church was holding an after-service barbecue for its members.

Sadly, my diet prevented me from having a burger, although there was a very thoughtfully supplied cup of tea, and I was able to talk to a number of those present and answer their questions on such issues as speeding and local representation. Mark Newcombe, the Pastor, is a Leicester City fan, and I told him how nice it was to see a team from beyond the usual suspects winning the big prize for a change. Perhaps it will be a metaphor for this by-election?

But there were still leaflets to deliver, and they couldn't wait, so, having said our farewells, we hit the streets of Somersham to finish our work for the day. Meanwhile, across Barking and Somersham, our volunteer delivery team were also out and about, spreading the word...

Campaign Diary: Day 5 - canvassing proper begins...

There may not be a lot of people who know that a surprising amount of Barking and Somersham ward is linked by a proper bus service. Ipswich Buses operate, with County Council support, route 111, which runs from Ipswich to Hitcham Causeway, and passes through Somersham, Willisham and Barking in doing so. It does also serve the Limeburners at Offton, but that's a fifteen minute walk from the village, so it isn't exactly useful if you're less than fully mobile. But, if you're a non-driver, as I am, and you need to get to Somersham to start your canvassing, it's a very useful service indeed, even if it only runs four times per day.

And so, I made sure that I was at Ipswich's Old Cattle Market bus station in time to catch the 5.40 p.m. bus. Having paid my extremely reasonable £1.80 fare, I sat back to enjoy the ride.

The timetable doesn't leave a lot of slack for rush hour traffic in Ipswich, and we were running a bit late by the time we reached my stop in Somersham. There was a hint of rain in the air too, but I set off to call on postal voters with a spring in my step.

As I've already noted, they aren't always conveniently in, and so I had prepared a small leaflet to post through the door if there wasn't anyone in. At least if they know I've called, they might appreciate that I did try to reach them and, at a time when politicians are as likely to knock on your door as once they might have been, I do think that making the effort is both worthwhile and valued.

I also called at the home of my Labour opponent, Will Marsburg, as much to introduce myself as anything. Will is young, enthusiastic about politics, and was happy to talk. It's important that young people engage in politics because, whilst pressure groups have their place in civil society, the people they seek to pressure are politicians.

I couldn't stop for long though, because there is a limited window for canvassing in the evening - you don't want to be knocking on the doors of, in particular, elderly people as darkness falls - and I had plenty of doors to knock on. The rain clouds were gathering over the Gipping Valley though, and I eventually called it a day, just as a steady rain fell from a rather gloomy sky.

I had found some Liberal Democrat supporters though - a very good evening's work indeed.

Campaign Diary: Day 3 - my first campaign event

And so, Ros and I set off for Baylham yesterday morning. The sun was shining and the Gipping Valley was resplendent, with fields full of oil-seed rape in Liberal Democrat yellow (mere coincidence, I assure you), and the foliage that shade of green that you get before the summer sun starts to fade it, crisp and lush. I was reminded that May is my favourite time of year in these parts.

Baylham is a village of about two hundred and fifty people, in the south-east corner of the ward. Until 2005 or so, it was in the Gipping Valley county division but boundary changes meant that it was added to Bosmere at the time that Ros gave up that division. It is home to John Field, one of the four Liberal Democrats on Mid Suffolk District Council, and also the County Councillor for Gipping Valley, and, as I walked up the steps and into the Village Hall, there he was, waiting to introduce me to some of his neighbours.

Campaigning is not something that comes easily to a lot of people. Putting a leaflet through a door is one thing, but actually talking to people, many of whom you might not know, can be pretty daunting, especially if you haven't done it for a little while. Luckily, most people I've met in mid-Suffolk are pretty friendly, and it wasn't long before I was introducing myself to people as they stood and chatted, "Hi, I'm Mark, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the by-election in four weeks time."

Word had got around that David Card had resigned, even though they hadn't yet heard that a by-election had been called, and they seemed happy to talk.

Village halls are at the core of community life but they can be difficult to maintain, especially for smaller villages. They're often relatively elderly, hard to keep warm and need refurbishment. For example, Baylham's was built in 1927 of wooden construction and was refurbished in 1993. It costs about £1,500 per annum to cover the cost of light, heat, water and insurance, and that's before you consider maintenance costs.

Money has to be raised by holding events, hosting parties and events, and that is done by a clutch of volunteers who work tirelessly to keep everything ticking over. And, when so many couples both work, there is less time to support the fabric of their community. Many villages rely on the enthusiasm of a small hardcore of individuals to ensure that vital village facilities and institutions are there to serve the community and, if I were to be elected on 2 June, one of my key aims would be to support the village communities across the ward to keep village halls going.

I did get to eat my cake, eventually (note, I skipped breakfast so that I could have cake instead and stick to my diet), and I have to say that it was a very good Victoria sponge, nice and light, good jam filling.

Fortified, and happier for having got the campaign off to a good start, I thanked John and Kay, his wife and our stalwart Local Party Secretary, for inviting me, and Ros and I set off for a drive around the villages, as much to look at them in terms of how best to organise my visits over the coming weeks.

There are seven villages that, together, form the Barking and Somersham ward. Barking runs south-west from the edge of Needham Market, and includes the opera house at Kennels Farm, home of the Barrandov Opera, of which I have written in the past. Offton and Willisham come next, two villages sharing a parish council, and then, as you turn towards Ipswich, you reach Somersham, the largest village in the ward. Nettlestead is then slightly north of Somersham, before a drive through narrow country lanes brings you back to Baylham. Last, but certainly not least, is Darmsden. This is the smallest village in the ward although, in truth, it's more of a hamlet at the end of a narrow lane that runs of the old Ipswich to Stowmarket road.

We stopped in Somersham to visit the Community Shop. When Ros was the county councillor, she worked hard to protect the old village shop, gaining rate relief and doing whatever she could to keep it viable. Sadly, it eventually closed in 2007, but, thanks to a dedicated campaign group, the Somersham and District Community Shop opened in 2012 as a Community Interest Company, run by volunteers. We were keen to see what the District Council could do to ease the regulatory burden upon them, so we dropped in to talk and buy a soft drink each.

So, having gotten a sense of how I'm going to organise my campaign, it was time to head for home. There were leaflets to design, lists to write... for tomorrow was another day...