With the Local Elections just days away, Party Chairman, Caroline Spelman, has been busy campaigning around the country.
How has your campaigning been going?
Very well. The highlight this week has to be Monday’s trip down to Maidstone for a regional tour. I regularly tour our regions but this is the first time I have been to Maidstone since the selection of Helen Grant, our new PPC, so I was eager to see what was happening there. The mood on the ground was really good, and I visited Gatland Park to see a brilliant Social Action project where one of our candidates is working hard with residents to regenerate a derelict local park.
And then on Wednesday I had the pleasure of welcoming three more Liberal Democrat councillors who have crossed the floor to join our Party.
Are you feeling confident of success on May 1st?
Yes - although May 1st this year will be very different to May 1st last year, as there are only 2,761 English seats up for grabs compared to10,500 last year. The successes last year mean that this year we are going into the elections starting on a high base - we have the highest number of Conservative councillors since 1985, and more than Labour and the Liberal Democrats combined. The majority of seats up for grabs are in metropolitan areas where historically Labour have been strong, so we may not see whole councils change but instead lots of what is know as ‘churning’ - seats changing hands but no overall change in political control.
In the capital, all eyes are on the London Mayoral contest. Obviously the polling is very encouraging, but it is vital we pull out the stops in this last week of campaigning. Ken has been Mayor for nearly a decade now and he’s not going to relinquish it easily, so every bit of help we give the Boris campaign will make a difference.
What’s the feeling like amongst the people you’ve met on the campaign trail?
People are upbeat about the agenda our Party has set out and they are eager for a change in our country’s politics. The positive agenda for a cleaner, greener, safer community is really striking a chord with people. Our recent promotional and recruitment campaign matches people’s aspirations with firm policy commitments, like lifting first time buyers out of stamp duty and lifting more people out of inheritance tax, and I think people are responding well to that. The strapline is “You can get it if you really want” – and May 1st gives people the chance to get those changes by voting Conservative.
What message do you have for voters?
That your vote can make all the difference. Where people have voted Conservative they typically have lower council tax bills and better local services. On average, Conservative councils levy lower council taxes than their Labour and Liberal Democrat counterparts. These savings are delivered hand-in-hand with imaginative and effective environmental polices such as proactive measures to prevent grafitti, fly posting and fly tipping, which make a real difference to not only where you live but collectively on the environment globally. So remember on May 1st - vote blue, go green – and save money!