Out and about for Labour in Uxbridge & South Ruislip - Danny Beales

 

Today I joined UNISON and Labour union colleagues to canvass for Labour in the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by election. A certain Boris Johnson has stood down as the MP for the area (for reasons everyone is aware). 

The Labour candidate, Danny Beales, is a UNISON member (and was nominated as a PPC by UNISON Greater London Labour Link). 

It was very hot (31C) and one member fainted as we were given a briefing outside Uxbridge station but there was a moderate breeze. I was able to meet Danny briefly for the first time - face to face. 

In my canvass team, we went to St Andrews Park which is a new development built on the site of a former RAF Battle of Britain airfield. My very first doorknock did not go "well" due to concerns about ULEZ (emissions charge) but after that, the results for Labour were pretty good but many residents were out.

My response on ULEZ is always based on remarks by a UNISON colleague who is a London Ambulance Service Paramedic. He lives in the countryside outside the London where emergency child admissions into hospital for asthma and other breathing difficulties are rare but at work in central London it is incredibly common. 

After the canvass some of us retreated to the Three Tuns Pub to share campaign stories, gossip and put the world to rights.