Express columnist and Conservative councillor Mieka Smiles has been out on the doors this week as a by-election has been declared in her ward.
Express columnist Mieka Smiles says the repsonse for Tories on the doors has been positive (Image: Getty)
Woo hoo! It’s election time. No, Keir Starmer hasn’t finally done the right thing and called one, sadly. But in my ward of Nunthorpe, in Middlesbrough, where I am a sitting Conservative councillor, the starting gun has been fired.
A by-election has been called after the Lib Dem councillor – Morgan McClintock – handed in his resignation. In short, Morgan, who is actually a decent chap, says he’s had his fill of nasty beef with a local critic.
Now…I know that interest in local elections is, shall I say, limited. However, as my ward sits within a marginal seat that flip-flops between the Conservatives and Labour, I think the result could actually be rather telling.
There was a point a month or so ago where I was pretty convinced that Reform was going to win the next General Election by a landslide of epic proportions. The Labour lot were polling dreadfully and, if you’d bloody believe it, we were doing even worse. Grim.
But whilst the car crash that is Keir Starmer’s Government lurches from one disaster to the next, I think things have taken a turn in the Tories’ favour. While David Lammy is busy accidentally releasing migrants from jail and Reeves plots her next way to punish Britain’s workers, Nigel Farage’s shine seems to have dimmed a little.
The Reform leader’s last big speech on the economy saw him make a number of U-turns on taxes – and that’s before he’s even in power! It didn’t show him to be a realist as he hopes, but just less bold and lacking the steely ambition the UK so desperately needs. Meanwhile, Kemi has kept her powder dry and – dare I say it – we’re starting to look like the grown-ups in the room.
A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been as excited to get out onto the doorsteps and fly the flag for us Tories. However, so far, the reaction has been great. As things stand, I have had just the one door shut in my face by a rather rude bloke who said he was voting for Reform (they can have him). But the rest of the response has been pretty damn positive. You learn a lot about the national mood when you’re trudging door to door in the rain with a clipboard.
I always say that in local politics that it’s important to look past the party and try and focus on the person: which candidate is going to do the right things for where you live. Our candidate is a hardworking dad, Martin Lyon, who actually lives in the ward. Surely a must when you’re voting for a local councillor? It’s the minimum I’d be looking for as a voter, I have to say.
Will we win on December 4? Who knows. But one thing is for sure, we’ll give it a good bloody go. And if nothing else, I’ll certainly get my steps in.
