Labour hit the panic button in by-election

Chopwell and Rowlands Gill in Gateshead is arguably one of Labour's safest wards in the country. Chopwell itself has been represented by Labour since the end of the 1st World War without interruption. A by-election is taking place in the ward and the contest will be held on Thursday.

The other two Labour councillors in the ward are John Hamilton and Mick McNestry. These are two individuals for whom I normally have a bit of time, though given the letters they have put out over the weekend, I suspect the sand is running out in the hour glass on that one, unless I happen to want a bit of time spent on being entertained by political court jesters!.

Yes, we have a classic example of Labour hitting the panic button and suddenly they have made all our issues about their own party, their candidate and their MP into top election issues for their own campaign. It's one of those situations you pray for. You produce your own literature with all your key campaign messages, all of which are damaging to Labour and you think, wouldn't it be fantastic if Labour fought their campaign trying to defend their own negatives and fail to get onto their own positives. Welcome to the mad, mad world of Labour in Chopwell and Rowlands Gill!

The letters they circulated over the weekend defended their decision to select a candidate from outside the ward. They also admit what we have been saying - that their candidate is a "reject" from another ward, having failed in a previous election.

They also have a go at "local lad Ray" - repeating the positive description we have used on him in our own literature! (Our candidate is called Ray Callender and is the only candidate who lives in the ward.)

In the leaflet we put out two weekends ago, we pointed out that the Labour MP for the area, Dave Anderson, had voted with the government on the Gurkhas - backing the government policy to kick many of them out of Britain. "This is quite simply untrue," they claim. Really!? In which case there needs to be an urgent police investigation for the real Mr Anderson must be kidnapped and an imposter put in his place who voted against the Gurkhas!

Labour also defend Mr Anderson's record on Post Offices - maybe it was another imposter who voted to continue closing them! But thanks Labour for focusing attention on a Labour negative.

So Mick and John, many, many thanks for the letters you put out over the weekend. Copies are on their way now to our HQ as examples of counter-productive panic attacks by opponents. If you are needing help to get your letters delivered, give us a call. I'm sure we can give a hand to get them out! They should be worth quite a few votes - to the Lib Dems of course!

---
Sent via BlackBerry