Daniel Zeichner – Labour Party PPC general election candidate

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!”

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