SubscribeAs the polls close I fear the worst. It’s been important to stay positive as once you lose your fight you lose the fight. If I’m wrong, I shall refer you to my post of yesterday and put this down to stress. But as the polls close one can admit to doubts and I fear that Cameron has snuck in with a working majority. It’s time to tighten your belts… look who’s back.
The uplifting highlight of the campaign was Gordon Brown’s speech to the Manchester Rally. A few minutes in he started listing Labour’s achievements over a standing ovation that felt like it would never end. A few minutes after that he told us what Labour would do with a fourth term, another long inspiring list.
We should have done much, much more of that.
In Burnage until 10pm last night, the leaflets I delivered warned people not to let the Tories by the back door by voting Lib Dem. That was an important message, but I’d rather have been energising them with the promise of a £7 minimum wage (a pledge I only learned of on at that rally). I fear that here in Manchester Withington the Lib Dems have held on. Their literature was not just more plentiful — they had much more money here — but more substantial too. While they didn’t run a particularly positive campaign, they weren’t shy of claiming achievements (that those claims were often dubious, is neither here not there).
But if I’m wrong… the people should brace themselves for five more years of pleasant surprises.
