I was up in Monmouth again, this time on local election day for a by-election in Town Ward, Monmouth. The Labour candidate is a young lad, George Rist, who is also a former Monmouth School pupil (like me). Catherine Fookes, Labour Party candidate for Monmouthshire, was out campaigning with us and leads the way on her home turf.
II was out, feeling optimistic. The previous two election day campaigns I have been on (in Chepstow) have ended in victory so it was third time lucky. I was full of energy and charging round banging hell out of doors, trying to do as much as possible. I was out on the corner of some random council estate with the older gentleman in the photos who is a former pharmacist from Abergavenny. He suddenly found fault in my work and said that I was too overactive and (obviously having heard about my End Of Terror mental health woes) made the discriminatory decision that I would not be allowed to continue the work for that day. This was for a critical election and I was perfectly fine. I have so far been welcomed with open arms by the Labour Party and I have felt it an inclusive organization that appreciates my effort and work as a volunteer. However, as in most places of work, tensions rise and things can happen that aren’t so tickety-boo. The guy reported me to Catherine who hadn’t seen me and although I protested I didn’t argue or cause a disturbanace and just went off to the pub before catching the bus home. It annoyed the hell out of me and didn’t seem a particularly democratic decision. I work for the Party and am a socialist and as in football like we have at LIverpool FC, no player is more important than the team. I accepted defeat today but it did really rile and annoy me and I certainly wasn’t filled with joy, later on at home, when I tuned into the election results to find out that George Rist had lost the election to a Tory. It is all hands on deck, especially at critical times and the decision to send me home was a poor one. But I survive and live to tell the tale and tomorrow is another day.
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