Audio recordings
Including interviews, oral histories and radio programmes. Highlights here include an interview between Mark Abrams (social scientist and businessman) and his grandson, and interviews conducted throughout 2019 with Female MPs, Rebel MPs and Academics.
Showing 326 - 350 of 432 Records
Sexism, online abuse and reform of UK Parliament
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Reference Code : - SOBA 4/2/11
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Date : - 2017-10-11 (creation)
The Political Reporters - General Election 2017
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Reference Code : - SOBA 4/2/12
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Date : - 2017-06-07 (creation)
Labour's Daniel Zeichner wins Cambridge in 2017
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Reference Code : - SOBA 4/2/13
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Date : - 2017-06-08 (creation)
Cambridge Mayor; City Council's Electoral Services Manager; and Council CEO
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/1
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Date : - 2015-3-31 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: On the March 31st 2015 Vicky and her team received the Writ from the Queen to say a General Election will be held. Cambridge Mayor, Councillor Gerri Bird, was there at the Guildhall in the Market Square to receive it as she is the Returning Officer. The City Council’s CEO, Antoinette Jackson, is the Acting Returning Officer who is responsible for running the General Election. There are 80000 voters in Cambridge, quite a task for the team. Voters have to register up to 12 days before the Election, and candidates need to put their names forward by 9th April. We began by speaking to Councillor Bird, as she signed for receipt of the Parliamentary Writ.
City Council's Electoral Services Manager
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/2
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Date : - 2015-4-9 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: On April 9th at the close of nominations we visited Vicky again, as she read out the six candidates who had put themselves forward to be the next MP for Cambridge. Vicky explained the process for registration. Vicky said that those nominated needed the support of ten people to be accepted onto the candidates list. She went on to explain how odd ball candidates get onto the list, how people can spoil their voting papers, and how both crosses on papers and ticks will be accepted and much more.
City Council’s Electoral Services Manager and her assistant
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/3
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Date : - 2015-4-21 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: The day after the close of voter registration on April 21st we recorded interviews with Vicky and her assistant Emily Watts, the Electoral Support Officer, about the Council’s outreach work to get people to register to vote. Cambridge is a student Town. A record number of people registered to vote, over 100000. Newspapers, TV and social media helped push those numbers up and the team ran an “informative” Twitter account. Turnout last time was 67.1 per cent, (national average was 65) and in May 2015 it was fewer at 62.1 per cent. (national average 66.1). Paper, equipment and staff training are next on Vicky’s to do list.
City Council’s Electoral Services Manager and a Presiding Officer
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/4
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Date : - 2015-4-22 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: At a training night for Presiding Officers on April 22nd we secured interviews with Vicky and a long serving Presiding Officer, Robert Osborn, who looks after East Chesterton. Robert also delivers poll cards. Polling booths open at 7 am and close at 10 pm. Robert told us that the Polling agents from the parties are allowed to witness the sealing of the ballot boxes before they are put in the booths. At the end of the day the papers are taken back to the Guildhall where the count is taking place.
Poll card deliverers
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/5
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Date : - 2015-4-22 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: Robert also delivers poll cards, as does Harriet Morgan, who we met at the Buddhist Hustings event. Robert has delivered 4000 poll cards this year. However Harriet thinks delivering cards does matter as it can give people the chance to realise they need to register if they haven’t done so already. .“People do say “where’s mine”. Vicky told us she has 150 staff that work for her department on polling day, and training them is essential. There is no electoral legislation to cover the use of mobile phones, Twitter or Facebook.
Returning Officer
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/6
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Date : - 2015-4-11 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: A long standing Returning Officer Rob Hammond, a former CEO of the City Council, spoke to us about his work on April 11th. Rob said he enjoyed the drama of the elections, “winners and losers”. He told us he had overseen four General Elections and that there was a very detailed process to work to: “You have to plan about a year ahead”. “If something goes wrong with it you are personally responsible.” He does foresee change in the future: “I am an enthusiast but it does need changing.”
Postal voter and hustings organiser
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/7
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Date : - 2015-4-27 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: We caught up with a postal voter who had helped organise the Brunswick and North Kite, Residents Association Hustings, Sue Gordon Roe. Around 200 people attended from the area after Sue and her friends delivered 500 invites to their neighbours. She organised a postal vote for her husband and daughter and voted on April 24th before she went on holiday: “I rang up and they sent it. We voted locally and we voted nationally. Double envelopes, all through the post and the door.”
City Council’s Marketing and Press Officer; and City Council’s Electoral Services Manager
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/8
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Date : - 2015-5-5 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: On May 5th, two days before the General Election, the City Council’s Marketing and Press Officer, Ashley Perry stood in the press balcony at the Guildhall to talk about how he and his team would manage the night of the count and field press interviews: “It’s about helping the media tell the story of the Election count. Journalists know the rules of the game but that is not necessarily so for citizen’s bloggers and citizen’s journalists. “ Hot foot from talking to Ashley, and after the close of postal-vote registration and when the postal votes were being counted at the Guildhall Vicky Breading again talked to us about her final preparations for the Day of Voting May 7th:: “There is a special sweep of the letter boxes at 10 am on the 7th for the postal votes, we do advise people to send them back earlier, but they will get picked up on the day. We have to check signatures and dates of birth on the postal votes just to authenticate it all. Every single one is checked. We have about 100 people on the night to count the ballot papers.”
Acting Returning Officer and CEO of the City Council
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/9
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Date : - 2015-5-7 (creation)
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Description : - As described by the depositor: On the night of the count we interviewed Antoinette Jackson, the Acting Returning Officer and CEO of the City Council just before the vote was declared in the early hours of the next morning May 8th:“The first ballot box was back at about 10.15 pm and the last one about 11.15 pm. I am responsible for the safe conduct of the count. I have to make sure that we are counting accurately and that the secrecy of the ballot is maintained and that the journalists are acting appropriately and not revealing things they shouldn’t be. It feels like one team working to make sure it is a successful count no matter what their role is.”
Chamali Fernando – Conservative Party general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/10
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Date : - 2015-4-13-2015-4-23 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed April 13th at the 'Keep our NHS Public' hustings, and April 23rd at the Housing hustings. As described by the depositor: Chamali told us: “I am 36 years old, I used to be a Liberal Democrat, it is no secret. I was also the youngest ever candidate shortlisted for the role of Mayor of London. Cambridge offers me the opportunity to put a City on the map. My interest in politics stems from when I was a child, my father contested two parliamentary seats when I was 7 and 8 years old and I helped him campaigning. In an Asian family politics is not something considered as a career for a woman. I am in this because I genuinely feel I can make a difference, that is what motivates me that is what drives me. ” At the Housing Hustings, Chamali stopped to chat to us as she left, what was a very angry meeting about the cost of housing in the City both to buy and to rent: She said: “I was very impressed by the amount of expertise in the room. I think Cambridge is punching well under its weight, we are a pioneering City, and we should be achieving more. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the NHS Hustings – I didn’t say what I was accused to say by the blogger about the mentallyill wearing wrist bands. I had death threats, and the misreporting of the event has upset those who are mentally ill too. I was personally thanked at the end of the Hustings.”
Rupert Read – Green Party general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/11
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Date : - 2015-4-7-2015-5-4 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed at the April 7th Bike hustings, and in central Cambridge on May 4th by the Green Party 'sunflower' bus As described by the despositor: At the Bike Hustings Rupert told us: “All politics is local, there is a lot of concern in Cambridge about air pollution and gridlock. Leafleting and being in touch is important. We target one ward and then one seat at a time. ” While leafleting beside the Green sunflower bus (powered by used chip fat) in Cambridge City City, (May 4th) Rupert said one to one voter contact in the streets was still really important. “We do lots of fancy stuff on social media with the Green Party but if you are not out on the streets meeting real people, and people who live where you are trying to get elected, then you are not going to get elected. Our positive vision swings voters over. We’re trying to make the World a better place. ”
Daniel Zeichner – Labour Party PPC general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/12
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Date : - 2015-2-25-2015-5-4 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed Feb 25th on Labour’s 'Pink Bus'; April 12th, Super Sunday leafleting; April 27th at the U3A hustings at the Friends Meeting House; and May 4th Bank Holiday Monday at the Labour Party HQ in Norfolk Street, telephone canvassing. As described by the depositor: At the Harriet Harman Pink Bus visit Daniel told us: “I think it is a fantastic idea, for the first time I can remember women’s issues are at the front of the campaign. Here we are talking about domestic violence, and how we are trying to turn Cambridge into a much safer city, particularly for women. The police will tell you the incidence of DV in Cambridge, has shot up and I am pleased Harriet is here talking to women about what needs to be done to help them, this is a hidden crisis that is going on in many homes. At the U3A Friends Meeting House Hustings Daniel said: “The problem with the Hustings in Cambridge is that we have a huge number of them, two a day today, and it needed some leadership from the incumbent MP to structure this differently. We discussed education, poverty, but not zero hour’s contracts, We could have had fewer hustings events with larger audiences and I think this would have taken us further.” At the Labour HQ on Bank Holiday Monday Daniel was telephone canvassing. He said: “We want our volunteers to get the vote out, in close campaigns and with some many people so undecided, these last minute conversations could be critically important. It does matter to phone canvass people, we have an enthusiasm on the ground, and this time we are seeing hundreds of students getting involved. That gives you more people you can use in key moments, like that four hours on election day when people come home from work, between four and 8 O’clock. “I mainly do door knocking, people like to look the candidate in the eye, I will flirt with the cat, flirt with the dog, flirt with the voter if necessary, it is all about the theatre of politics, but politics is about a relationship with people, and they do like to know who their representative is. I have been contesting this seat now for nearly ten years, so I have met most of the people in one way or another and it is surprising how many of the conversations you do recollect, especially with the dogs!” At the 30th Hustings which was the last one for the University of Cambridge European Society at St John’s auditorium Daniel was delighted that the hustings events had finished: “It is not about the husting or the leafleting we have done, the votes will be won and lost with the thousands of conversations we have had on the doorstep. It is about the one to one looking people in the eye and talking to people. Ed asked us to have 4 million conversations across the Country, and in Cambridge we have had about 15 to 20000. I am feeling very happy and I don’t know how the vote will go!”
Julian Huppert – Liberal Democrat general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/13
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Date : - 2015-4-4-2015-4-20 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed at the April 4th 'Unite Against Fascism' picnic, and April 20th 'Unite Against Fascism' hustings. As described by the depositor: First we spoke to Julian at the Unite Against Fascism picnic on April 4th where all the parties came together to condemn a recent racist attack in Petersfield Park. We then spoke with Councillor Oscar Gillespie who was up for nomination in Market Ward as a councillor for the Green Party and who did then win his seat. We also met the woman who had been the subject of the racist abuse. Julian said: “I am a Liberal I care about people as individuals but unfortunately what we are seeing with the rise of UKIP is anti-foreigners xenophobic commentary. The other parties Labour and the Conservatives are following that same route. I will stand firm as a Liberal.” At the April 20th unite Against Fascism Hustings, Julian pointed out that Cambridge had seen two EDL (English Defence League) marches in recent years and he said that the community has dealt with it very well. He said: “We have seen people assaulted because of their race, and that is not OK.” A Green Party Candidate for Petersfield in the local elections, Atus Mariqueo-Russell, spoke alongside Julian. He said he wanted to challenge the other candidates on foreign policy and immigration. “The debate has become very dangerous and polarising.” Both Julian and Atus Tweeted about the event but Julian never Tweets until he has arrived somewhere, just in case he doesn’t make it.
Keith Garrett – Rebooting Democracy general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/14
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Date : - 2015-5-7 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed at the Cambridge Guildhall General Election count. As described by the depositor: We caught up with a PPC l Candidate, Keith Garrett, who started his own party from scratch, called Rebooting Democracy after he read a book of the same name. Keith told us: “I want to help run the country better. I am a systems administrator so I run computers. It isn’t actually that big a task to start a party, others should do it. You just have to fill in some forms, stand up there, talk to people, it is not that hard a thing to do. “To register the party cost me £150 and to stand as an MP was £500, and you get that back if you get 5 per cent of the vote. “No”, I won’t get that. The post office will give you a free mailing to everybody in the constituency. You have to print the leaflets yourself which I did. It cost me £700 to print the black and white leaflets which went to 53,600 homes. “Rebooting Democracy only has one pledge which is to change the system of government from the current one to one where the Country decides where it is going to go, and then we use citizen’s panels which are selected like juries, randomly, to come up with the decisions to take the Country forward. The current system has let us down so badly with the rise of social inequality, and climate change. This is only the beginning of the process for us we are going to move towards having an MP in every seat.”
Patrick O’Flynn – UKIP general election candidate
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/15
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Date : - 2015-4-18 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed while campaigning in King's Hedges. As described by the depositor: We met Patrick O’Flynn when he and his team were campaigning in a target ward for them, Kings Hedges. He said: “This is one of the more working class wards in Cambridge and we have had a series of action days where we have targeted and leafleted people in our target wards, which tend to be the more blue collared wards. Last night we had a big public meeting in the Ward in the Arbury Community Centre, and other members of our Party attended. We had the added attraction of Douglas Carswell, and I am UKIP national campaign director too so I have been on the television quite a lot. Douglas brought in the extra turnout and we had a really good night. We are getting the leaflets through the door, but it is very mixed. Some say there is no place for UKIP in Cambridge, because we want migration controls. “I do Tweet but I don’t do Facebook but the Party puts a lot into Facebook with Nigel Farage and others in the party. We are coming from a fairly low base in Cambridge but we are the new kid on the Cambridge scene but we have taken massive strides forward. We have eight candidates for 14 wards, I am proud of that, and through the local elections we will find out where our strength lies to hopefully go on to win local seats in 2016. “Cambridge is a Liberal Left city but the liberal left vote is split so it gives me a niche between the blue collar and Conservative vote who might like some of our pledges on defence spending and looking after some of our veterans, law and order and EU and immigration and inheritance tax.”
Conservative PPC Campaign Manager, Mr Chandila Fernando
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/16
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Date : - 2015-4-28 (creation)
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Description : - Mr Chandila Fernando, brother of the candidate, interviewed at the Churches Jubilee hustings. As described by the depositor: He said: “I think this is the 27th Hustings, there are sometimes two or three in a day. As an agent, you have to ensure your candidate is safe, well rested, and gets around the Constituency in the most effective way, but there is a diary plan for every day. “As an agent you are everything from pot washer, to driver to stylist, advisor, and you have to have your eyes and ears to the ground, you act as the interface between the candidate and the association, which ceases to exist. You have to keep the troops out canvassing motivated, you are juggling telephone calls, priorities and being as polite as you possible can even if the circumstances are trying. She is my sister and you do the best you possibly can. “You have to deal with the media too. The report that said Chamali had said that the mental illness sufferers must have compulsory use of wrist band is completely refuted. We envisaged that there would be difficult circumstances but only when you are in a campaign can you understand the challenges, the volume of hustings and frequency has been a challenge. It is tough but that is part of the democracy of this Country and part of the quirks of Cambridge. I admire and am very proud as a brother and agent to support my sister.”
Oscar Gillespie – Green Party local City Council candidate and activist
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/17
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Date : - 2015-4-4-2015-5-4 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed at the UA Fascism picnic, April 4th, and on the Green sunflower powered bus on Bank Holiday Monday May 4th. As described by the depositor: When we caught up with Oscar on Bank Holiday Monday May 4th he had been out in the streets of Cambridge canvassing all day, and he told us. “We have to speak to people face to face, we have to meet people. We are not accepting donations from companies that want to influence our policies, so we don’t have the same resources, or from tax dodgers who want to make sure the law stays on their side. “Our biggest resource is the people who believe in what we believe in. We are passionate about public transport, to allow people to get to work or to do their shopping, our reliance on cars is incredible dangerous and unsustainable, it is mindless. We will need to use recycled oil buses like this one, or solar powered ones, if we get that far we will have made some really important choices. “I wouldn’t call our Sunflower bus a stunt, it is easy to take information around the Country with them. We have some of the worst air pollution in the country in Cambridge due to the volume of traffic that comes through. Our Party Leader, Natalie Bennett will be visiting the Bus tomorrow, and today our Deputy Leader Amelia Womack came here. “
Richard Howitt, Labour MEP and Regional Campaign Manager
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/18
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Date : - 2015-4-12-2015-5-7 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed campaigning on a Super Sunday, April 12th, and on the night of the count after the vote was declared. As described by the depositor: Richard Howitt told us: “The last election five years ago was the first digital election, where social media played a role, and most people said at the time it was not significant, but this time social media has been a very active part of each party’s campaign including the Labour parties. Whether it swings any votes, we will have to wait until afterwards to know. In Cambridge we are trying to knock on every door as every vote is vital to us, but that wouldn’t be true in every seat, but it is true in Cambridge. You put more effort into some wards than others but we definitely don’t forsake the Labour vote. Most people don’t live and breathe politics, I do, but for others politics is very marginal. “We know how many promises we have got, and we have knocked on a high percentage of doors, but there is quite a lot that we haven’t and no party is able to. People say there are two seats in the country where Labour may move from third place to first and Cambridge is one of them. If we do that it will be a fantastic achievement and I believe we will.” We then interviewed Labour activists Holly, Ashely, Olivia, Fred, Rory and Maddie. Maddie, the Organiser of Super Sunday told us: “When we are preparing leaflets it is local people who know which streets go best together. I always ask the local team which place is the best to go to. When you do something together in a team it is actually quite straight forward. The best way to convince people is by speaking to them on the doorstep it is the best way.”
Labour Campaign team workers
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/19
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Date : - 2015-5-4 (creation)
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Description : - Includes interview with activist and volunteer Paul McHugh. As described by the depositor: Paul told us: “If people say in the morning of the vote they will be out and they haven’t been in the evening we will go and talk to them again. People have been phoning up for rosettes. We are concentrating on polling day on getting the vote out. Later tonight we will get Daniel to do some more phone canvassing with us, we will phone up all the Labour party members who have not offered to help us, the inactive members and remind them there is an election.”
Cambridge Liberal Democrat Treasurer, Rod Cantrill, and local Party Chair, Spencer Haggard
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/20
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Date : - 2015-5-4-2015-5-6 (creation)
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Description : - Rod Cantrill interviewed May 6th, and Spencer Haggard interviewed May 4th. As described by the depositor: Rod told us: The rules are very precise, all parties have to submit a quarterly return to the Electoral Commission, by the Federal Party to indicate donations of £500 or over. And the Federal Party has to declare to the EC any donation over £1,500. We don’t have trade unions, we don’t have businesses, so our money comes from individuals small amounts from a lot of people. We have raised over £22,000 on a new crowd funding site and the typically amount given is £50 or £100. The Liberal Democrats’ core donors give £25 or £30 a month by Direct Debit. It is the small amounts that add up and which enable us to fight the campaign. “Our success is based on two things, people and money, and both of those things are interlinked and you need those two things to succeed. I am a big supporter of a proper capped public funding method of supporting political parties nationally. We have got our funds from three different things, crowd funding which is new to us, secondly a big political beast visiting the patch, Vince is a good pull at an event so people will give a lot of money. And thirdly the local event the fish and chip quiz night, where people get together.” Spencer told us: “We have 500 posters up, what we call stake boards – three times the number at the last General election. You knock them into ground, stick them into fences, and then repair and replace them when they get damaged. Getting 300 posters up very quickly boosts morale, and puts Labour on the back foot. It was really important to say re-elect Julian Huppert and the showing of the other party’s posters were much smaller. “You can be beaten on the day by a better organisation that has got its vote out. The weather will make a difference but nobody agrees what difference!”
Liberal Democrat activist; and a door knocker
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/21
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Date : - 2015-4-12-2015-5-4 (creation)
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Description : - Interviews with Liberal Democrat activist Rachel, on may 4th, and Colin, a door knocker, and the office manager Nicola Martin on April 12th at a door knocker training session. As described by the depositor: Rachel told us: “I didn’t realise how much work goes in on a local level, and how it matters. There are so many activists and councillors working locally and all you hear is what is on the national news. What Nick Clegg tweets, or what David Cameron says, and there are more people on a local level who have invested in it too.” Nicola Martin, campaign assistant for Julian Huppert said they had concentrated on putting across Julian’s positive message. “We just keep everything happy and positive about Julian, as he is the best candidate for Cambridge, so we are telling that to everyone we can.” Colin a veteran door knocker said: ”I have been door knocking since 2005, I got conned into it, but I found it was not as bad as I feared. I haven’t had any training and thought it was about time I got some. Some like it others don’t, you sometimes get nice reactions and others don’t want to be bothered, you have to be prepared for anything, wind ups, aggression, the lot.”
Campaign Manager for the Liberal Democrats in South East Cambridgeshire, Kevin Wilkins, and his team
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Reference Code : - SOBA 5/1/22
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Date : - 2015-4-28 (creation)
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Description : - Interviewed in their Ely office. As described by the depositor: Kevin told us: “Lots of electoral law is quite archaic, you need ten names to nominate you and lots and lots of forms to fill in. If you get some of those wrong then your candidate isn’t a candidate. Envelopes are written by hand to make it look as personalised as possible, we have sent out 15,000 this week. It gets done at a rate of about 80 an hour. We have grown up knowing that we don’t have the national press shouting for us, so we know we have got to get the message out locally. That means delivering lots of leaflets and knocking on lots of doors. A great disappointment of the coalition is that there hasn’t been a standardisation of letter boxes Act (he joked). Our office opens from 10 am to 10pm and as we get nearer to the election it will go on later than that. “There is a spending limit on the campaign of about £15000 so it clearly matters that you can raise that amount of money, but at least it is £15000 not £150000. “ David Wright, who runs the LD Printing Society said: “I first did this in 1974, and I am a volunteer, I don’t charge for my time. The most recent mistake I made was to print one side of the leaflet upside down. Once a typesetter left the word “not” out so it read “we will make the same mistake as the Labour party.” Loran a party organiser and agent, said that she spent time at her computer organising things: “A lot of our material is going to focus on the need for affordable housing. We work at weekends, we have meetings every Sunday evening.” Sheila the poster putter up with David her husband said: “This is a very exciting election – I am terrified if I am holding the post and my husband is doing the hammering. I think does he love me or not?”