Campaigning In Bath

On Saturday I attended a Conservative Future campaign day in Bath where we were canvassing for Bath’s prospective Conservative Member of Parliament, Fabian Richter who was selected by the local association about a year ago.

The Conservatives lost Bath at the 1992 General Election when, then Chairman of the Conservative Party, Chris Patten was unseated by the Liberal Democrats. The newly elected MP, Don Foster has been the incumbent ever since.

Having the opportunity to go canvassing in other constituencies is almost always an interesting experience. Talking to a different set of people often gives you a better idea of the national or regional mood than you tend to get from just one constituency.

One thing that I immediately noticed was the willingness with which voters in Bath would freely admit how they were intending to vote, often without even being asked. Another was the common desire among many previous Lib Dem and Conservative voters to get rid of the current Labour Government.

Following the afternoon’s campaigning we all went to have a drink in a pub called Chequers which is very near the Royal Crescent. Conservative Future members from Bristol were there including, Nick Webb and Chris Smith. It was also good to finally be able to meet Zehra Zaidi who is on the South West Conservative MEP list. All in all a successful day.