What People Are Asking at Euro-hustings

I’ve done a fair number of hustings meetings in this European election campaign — far more than ever before — and they aren’t over yet. What is notable is that people who come to them really are interested in knowing what the candidates of different parties think about European issues, rather than national or local concerns. At the hustings put on by the Wandsworth Society last night, for example, there was not one question or comment about MPs’ expenses. Instead, the issues of the economy and the environment, and what the EU can do about them, were the hot topics. Political anoraks may draw some comfort from the fact that there were also several interventions about the electoral system, including a request for details about how parties choose the order of candidates on their list.

There was not an ounce of aggro at all, either there or at the hustings the previous evening, at Durand Primary School in Stockwell (Lambeth). Similarly, when my team and I were out campaigning yesterday morning in Shepherd’s Bush Market, not only did everyone we spoke to know that the European elections were happening, but there was a very friendly reception and lots of pledges from former Labour voters that they will vote LibDem this time. Of course, there is still everything to play for, but these could turn out to be the most interesting European elections in Britain since they began 30 years ago.

Link: www.jonathanfryer4europe.com