Beating the BNP - Barking Day of Action

Yesterday afternoon after the West Ham Labour Party stall in Green Street I went off with a long serving CLP member to Barking to help out with Margaret Hodge and the local Labour Councillor campaign.

The campaign headquarters is in a local Baptist church and is very well run and organised. Soon after we arrived, we were properly briefed and given materials (and grabbed some tasty sandwiches) and sent off to fight the good fight.

We went off with quite a large canvass team to Parsloes Ward which I believe has currently two BNP councillors and one Labour. I thought that the canvass went quite well. People didn’t seem to me to be at all hostile. The international Rugby match was on and two people apologised that they could not speak because of this as they rapidly closed the front door. Fair enough. I didn’t actually get anyone to admit that they were BNP supporters. I had two decent “political” conversations with local residents. The key issue was not immigration but the shortage of affordable housing. A divorced grandmother who was looking after her daughter’s home explained how she was stuck in an expensive private sector flat on the dole since the very high rent meant that she could not work. In another home another resident who worked for the local Council complained that she would have to move since her children could not afford to live locally. Interestingly both of them volunteered that they recognised that the real reason for the housing shortage was a direct consequence of the “right to buy”.

At the end of the session we had mugs of tea and biscuits waiting for us. I was also able to meet my new Facebook friend Graham Letchford. I love the shirts! Graham is standing with our Louise Couling in Gorebrook ward against the fascist Barnbrook.

Photo with Margaret and team outside Labour battle bus. It was a good day.