I was, yesterday, somewhat critical of the Conservative candidate, Tim Passmore, noting that the blog on his rather shiny and otherwise modestly slick website was, a bit like his notion of consultation, utterly useless.
However, I have now had some interaction with his Labour opponent, Jane Basham, although it hadn't entirely been my intention to do so. This afternoon, James Hargrave, whose Twitter feed I follow, retweeted a message from our beloved Labour MEP, Richard Howitt, which drew my attention, and, somewhat unusually, a response (I'm a busy man, I need someone to do this stuff for me...)
@richardhowitt @onlygeek @jane_basham Still not minded to vote for you, although won't be voting Tory... Got anything positive to say?
— Mark Valladares (@honladymark) October 3, 2012
Now, call me old-fashioned, but just because your opponent holds a view you perceive to be awful (Tim Passmore has announced that he is in favour of reintroducing hanging), this is not grounds to vote for you. It is, perhaps, grounds for not voting for your opponent, but nonetheless...
Within half an hour, I was being followed by the candidate on Twitter, and twenty minutes after that, I received a message inviting me to DM her. Impressive, n'est-ce pas? So, in the social media stakes, certainly one up to Jane Basham thus far.
Admittedly, I haven't responded to her courteous invitation so far - I am a Liberal Democrat Party officer, after all, and I'm cautious about being used - but it does lead me to think that I might find the contest more interesting than I might otherwise have thought...
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