"No-one's knocked on my door"

I've had a few people get in touch with the office to say that they haven't had any election literature from Labour or any contact on the doorstep. Many, many more people than that are returning slips from the leaflets or calling up, pledging their support, asking for posters, offering to help, or raising issues, including a lovely 78 year old woman who left a message on the campaign phone last night, saying she'd always voted Labour and wasn't going to change now, and she thought I'd done a great job over the last five years, and don't let the Tories in!

We've had quite a few such calls, of people just wanting to wish us well. (I say "us" - I mean the Labour Party, and my local Labour team. I might be the person up for election, but it's not just about me). I have also been moved by the number of people working in the public and voluntary sectors who have privately told me how worried they are about the prospect of a Tory government.

But to return to topic... virtually every household in the constituency should have had a copy of a hand-delivered newspaper, entitled Bristol News, which went out before the election was called (and I suspect some people have already forgotten they've had that). We have also been delivering surveys as we've been door-knocking - and we've covered virtually every area of the constituency in recent weeks, if not every street - and have been giving out copies of Labour's manifesto for families "Your Family, Your Choice" too. The election address, which is delivered by Royal Mail, is going out now, and we also have a "Change We See" leaflet going out now, to at least half the households in east Bristol. It's a great leaflet with a very positive message. We've also done a fair bit of street campaigning, e.g. with John Prescott in Fishponds, and in St George on St George's Day, as well as having a bit of fun with a fox in St George's Park. And we've been at the school gates, where the reaction from parents has been really good.

So sorry if we've missed you, but it doesn't mean we're not out there trying our best to make contact with as many people as possible. And we're certainly not complacent at all about the result in east Bristol. I don't detect any enthusiasm at all on the doorstep for a Conservative Government, but that doesn't mean that people who are Labour inclined will turn out to vote unless we convince them we're listening to their concerns, and tell them about what the election strategists would call "the future offer". (In other words, what we're going to do for them, their community and the country if we are re-elected). And we will be continuing to do so over the next few days until polling day.

I might try and post pdfs on the leaflets on here, or on the website, so that anyone who hasn't received a copy can download. And if you really want to talk to me about anything before polling day, and you're a constituent, by all means get in touch!