April- can you believe it is already April? This year certainly seems to be flying by!! I have started canvassing hard across the constituency to reach as many people as possible before polling day.
Before going any further I would like to take an opportunity to thank each and every person who has been out campaigning with me. The amount of support and volunteers willing to help has been amazing so thank you all!
Aprils Fools day began in Fornham. Whilst I was there I paid a visit to the Care Home too to meet residents and find out more about their concerns. I moved onto Stowmarket North and with a team of 6 volunteers we had a great afternoon canvassing in the area. Finally, I was invited to the Bury St Edmunds Youth Parliament Hustings. Again my passion for young people in politics was shown and the quality of candidates in this debate was fantastic. A brilliant first day in April.
I have tried to get to as many areas of the constituency as possible during this week. On Thursday I travelled to Minden Ward, Haughley and Wetherden and Elmswell and Norton, so again a busy day of canvassing. Luckily the famous ‘April showers’ are yet to descend on Suffolk.
Easter weekend may mean a long weekend, but that didn’t mean canvassing stopped. Good Friday I was out in Southgate with Patrick Chung for a couple of hours speaking to residents about any issues they have in their area. Saturday morning was spent in Abbeygate, again getting to know more people within the constituency. On Saturday afternoon I was invited to attend the Bury Town Football Club playing against VCD Athletic. Having already seen the talent at the Rugby club, the Football club was a shining example of how much talent there is the constituency. I may not know the offside rule but it didn’t stop me cheering with the rest of the crowd.
Easter Monday I spent in North Norwich with many other prospective parliamentary candidates from across Norfolk and South Cams as we tried to deliver 25,000 leaflets and talk to as many people as possible in the area. It filled me with renewed vigour as I got ready to tackle another busy week of campaigning here in Bury.
As many people know the rail network in and out of our constituency are pretty dire. On Tuesday morning I was up and at the station by 6am talking with one constituent about the problems affecting him on a daily commute to London. This was particularly interesting and gave me more desire to fight for better rail networks across Suffolk, and in particular our constituency. I was also lucky enough to spend an hour meeting the Dean of the Cathedral, for a very interesting discussion. On Tuesday I was invited for lunch at Greene King Brewery, where I met Mark Blythman and a number of the brewers responsible for making the bitter we consume daily. It was an extremely interesting couple of hours at the Brewhouse.
In almost a flash we are at the end of the first week of April. The parties will produce their manifestos next week and I encourage you all to read them, as an informed choice in this general election is key. After all, knowledge is power.