Political campaigning techniques are undergoing a revolution. You’ll still be getting leaflets through your door during the local election campaign, but all the political parties are now using more modern means of political communication to engage with voters. South Norfolk Conservatives have made a three minute video starring some of their candidates which they have posted on YouTube. The Liberal Democrats are using video on demand to support their campaign all over the country, while Labour’s deputy leadership candidates all have profiles on the social networking site Facebook. Many council candidates have blogs which they use to record their thoughts on local issues and to reflect on the success (or otherwise) of their campaigns. All these interactive methods are predominantly aimed at attracting the support of younger people, who tend to get all their news and current affairs knowledge from the internet rather than TV, radio or newspapers. The approach is succeeding with far more younger candidates standing for election than ever before.
Another aspect of political campaigning which is always a source of fascination and controversy is posters. The Liberal Democrats are clearly winning the poster war in Norwich, Broadland and North Norfolk – but then again they always do. Those irrititating diamond orange posters which declare everywhere that Liberal Democrats are WINNING HERE, even when they are not, never cease to annoy Conservative and Labour supporters. I’d love to produce some stickers which you could place over them so they said WHINGING HERE, or LOSING HERE, but I’m too much of a coward. The new Tory posters have not gone down well with some of the old guard – but I suppose that’s the whole point. Personally, I think they’re rather good and the transformation of blue into green is quite eyecatching. Labour are still using the same poster design in Norwich that they had when I was at university there in the 1980s. But they’re certainly not as prevalent as they were then. Indeed, there is a great reluctance on the part of many people nowadays to display their political allegiances. LibDems seem to be the least shy, but then it’s because no one really feels that strongly about them. Conservatives and Labour supporters traditionally hate each other and they therefore think that if they display a poster they will get a brick through their windows. In thirty years in politics I have only ever known one person in Norfolk to experience this. So if you have a strong political allegiance, why not display it? It will make your own party supporters feel good and annoy your opponents!
When I saw the headline CAMEROON TO JAIL URINE DRINKERS on the BBC News website this week I did indeed wonder what on earth some Tory apparatchik was thinking of. Was this some new eye-catching policy devised to appeal to yet another bizarre minority group? Luckily I then read the article which made clear that it was the country of Cameroon which was proposing this new policy rather than the leader of the Conservative Party!
When I tell my friends in London that North Norfolk is becoming quite a centre of gastronomic excellence they tend to shake their heads in disbelief. But those who have sampled the delights of many of the superb restaurants on the North Norfolk coast will pay testament to the fact that there are few better areas in East Anglia to stuff your face on superb local fayre. I have long been a fan of Jacques restaurant in Cromer, but it was with a certain degree of angst that I learnt that the owners of Jacques had taken over the Mirabelle restaurant in West Runton. I paid my first visit there last weekend and was delighted by the experience. Every seat in the restaurant was full and the food – well, where do I start? Sumptuous is the only word I can think of. The service was superb and the bill was reasonable. I’ll definitely be going back.
Those of you who read my blog in 2004 and 2005 may remember how I fought proposals by the LibDem controlled North Norfolk District Council to introduce fortnightly rubbish collections. I reckoned it would be bad for public health and increase the rat population. I lost the battle and an army of wheelie bins can now be seen polluting the pretty villages of North Norfolk.
I was therefore most amused to see the brass necked LibDems calling Labour proposals in Luton and Liverpool for fortnightly collections a "Rats' Charter". But obviously not in North Norfolk.
Having said that there are also Conservative councils who have gone down the road of fortnightly collections. The truth is that in some areas it's appropriate and in others it isn't. It's easier to implement in urban areas as public health issues are easier to police.
Of course this is one of those issues where many councils are faced with little choice. Central government recycling targets mean that fortnightly collections in wheelie bins are the only way of meeting them. And if the targets are not met, the. Council gets a fine. Catch 22.
