Young PPCs week 10: Nick Varley
Good morning! It’s bright and early at 7:15 on Wednesday morning and I’ve got to admit I’m a bit tired. The General Election was called yesterday at 11am and I left the house ten minutes later, only to return from the Durham Conservative Office at 10:30 pm last night. And then I had to sort my e-mails out, and then write a speech.
I’m tired, but my campaign really hit the ground running yesterday. We got several thousand leaflets out, more than 100 “Nick Varley” placards made, and I met more than 200 people on their doorsteps. I was talking to my veteran Election Agent yesterday about the fact that this is my first General Election campaign as an activist, let alone as a candidate. His exact words “Nick, you’re going to feel like you been hit by a bus at the end of this”. Thanks a lot, way to keep morale up!
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news this morning. The campaign in City of Durham has started under a cloud of Liberal Democrat Smear tactics. Real Radio North East 101.8FM are leading with a story about a Durham Lib Dem Councillor ringing me anonymously and leaving a poisonous answer phone message encouraging me to smear the Labour MP and to work with the Lib Dems to do so.
I was selected as the candidate in November 2008 and I immediately called for a ‘clean fight’ in Durham, because Durham politics is known as the North East equivalent of ‘Chicago-style politics’, with vicious personal attacks appearing on a regular basis. I knew what I was taking on when I was selected, but I’ve resolutely refused to go negative on other candidates. Unfortunately, since November 2008 the Lib Dem candidate has been throwing smear after smear after smear at me. Did you know that being 20 and campaigning for the area you grew up in means you’re a “joke candidate”? No, nor did I.
Open age discrimination in Liberal Democrat literature: it’s genuinely disgusting. Given that so many 18-20 year olds don’t vote because they think politicians are all untrustworthy, literally thousand upon thousand of leaflets are being delivered to young people’s homes telling them that if they want to get involved in politics they’re going to be smeared. Terrible tactics. Like I say, I knew what I was getting into, and whilst unwanted, this sort of thing wasn’t unexpected.
Truth be told, I’m disappointed that today is the first day of my first General Election campaign and it’s taking place under this cloud. But I’m delivering leaflets with a positive message on them, and I’m only talking about local issues with people on the doorstep because I will not throw mud at anyone in this election campaign. It turns people off politics.
If you want to listen to the story, go to www.realradionortheast.co.uk and click ‘listen live’ at half past, or on the hour. Or, read up on the story here.
Nick Varley is the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for the City of Durham.
(Photo courtesy NickVarley.co.uk)
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