Labour Party Leadership Election Steps up a Gear - Friday 27th August - Saturday 28th August 2010

Got home from work switched my mobile phone on and recieved the two following text messages:

From Diane Abbott
Dear Party Member, Happy Bank Holiday! Ballots for Leadership drop next week. I hope I can reply on your support. Visit diane4leader.co.uk for more info Diane

Hi it's David Milliband. I'm ready to take the fight to Cameron. Will you vote for me as next Leader? please reply Y, N or D if undecided (s to opt out), Thanks  

Thanks for your response. Would you be willing to consider giving me your 1st or 2nd preference? if so please reply CONSIDER. David.

That was yesterday today (Saturday) I recieved a personalised mailshort from Ed Milliband and Ed Balls and an email off each of them too.

Things are hotting up can't wait for it all to be over its been going on a long time now! 

David Milliband MP visit to Milton Keynes - Thursday 19th August 2010

David Milliband MP being interviewed by the media outside the Woughton Community Council offices on Netherfield

Again I did not have far to go for this visit as David Milliband was to meet staff and Councillors at the Woughton Community Council offices first.

I was introduced to Julie by Kevin Wilson and with help from the office staff cleared out and set up the drop in as I was told that the main meeting room was being used as it turned out the meeting was cancelled so instead we set the meeting room up with teas and coffees and Julie kindly went to get some milk and had obviously done a detour to Subway as she came back with a coffee.

The MKNews photographer and Journalist turned up first followed by a camera man and reporter from BBC Look East Julie asked if I would meet David and introduce him to members of staff and Councillors and if I minded being filmed.

I thought the camera man from the BBC was joking when I stood outside and came up to me and shook my hand and said hello David you are David aren't you so I thought very funny I'll just play along with it and said yes I am so when he asked to store his equipment in the meeting room and kept calling me David I got asked why was he calling me David by a Councillor so I had to explain.

David Milliband turned up and I introduced myself and invited him in to the meeting room and introduced him to members of staff and Councillors, Cllr Donna Coventry informed him that her son had got his place at Manchester University and he gave her a hug, and we then had a question and answer session where some party members also turned up including Brian White, David asked how he was doing.

He also asked how could the Labour Party support Councillors in undertaking their community work and one member replied to get reelected that got a laugh.

Then when that was over Cllr Janet Richardson was asked to lead the walkabout to the Alphabet Park so that David could see the interactive play and exercise equipment supplied by the last Labour Government's Playbuilder funding and then finish up at the Netherfield Meeting Place on Farmborough for a Question and Answer session with party members and supporters, all was going well until the Guardian reporter and photographer started walking in the opposite direction and I informed David they were going the wrong way, however they had other ideas and wanted a photograph with David and Janet away from the crowd so they walked away leaving us to wait, Janet tells me later that she had to be a bit pushy and tell David time was moving on and they needed quickly to walk to the meeting place.

I decided to cut my loses and go and drive there in my car but the parking was terrible so ended up half way down the street parking in a side road leading to some residents garages.

As I was walking down a couple of lads who met their other mates said guess who we just met Ed Milliband priceless!

It was standing room only so I hid away in the kitchen and tried to make myself a cup of tea but there seemed to be no water in the urn until Veronica Belcher said I had to tilt it!

David was being very risky by standing next to a baby in a buggy saying there is a Guardian journalist here and i'm going to say hello to this baby now imagine if the baby cries what will the journalist make of that, but if the baby does not cry then I'll be off the hook (N.B no crying baby David's lucky day.)

Julie came in and asked if I knew how to delete photographs on the digital camera she had been given as the memory card did not have much space on it but it was so bloody complicated I had to give up hate doing that.

Julie also asked which on her list were the best taxi firms to use as she needed to catch the 12:25 train to Northampton for David's next visit, I said not to worry I'd drive her there so I ran down the road chucked the rubbish in the back of my car and drove back to the meeting place to collect her and had to squeeze by a couple of badly parked cars and drove her to Milton Keynes Central.

I got back just as he was wrapping up and Veronica remembered that the donation buckets were in her car and went to get them so I somehow ended up standing next to the door getting quite a bit of loose change fivers and tenners result, Brian White asked me who was attending the other door I said no one its locked!

There was problems with people trying to leave by car as serveral were blocked in with one woman shouting a registration number out as she was blocked and needed to get back to work, even someone living across the road had unneedlessly blocked a car in as well.

Kevin asked me to take the buckets back to the office and he would collect them from me later so I ran straight from the meeting room halfway down the road to my car hoping and praying I didn't get mugged on the way (how differcult would that be to explain and very suspicious to!)

I jumped in my car locked the door and drove to the office parked up and looked around me lept from the car and straight in to my office and waiting for Kevin and never letting the buckets out of my sight, I even rang Kevin to get him to hurry up!

Later in the evening I was having an evening meal with my friend Paula Lewis at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen at the Hub in Central Milton Keynes and my phone rang it was another friend Tahnee Campbell who said she saw me on BBC Look East, I also met Alan Williams outside the same restaurant with his work mates who asked how the visit went.

When I saw the later news edition there was not so much coverage so I missed my scenes and nothing on BBC i player for me to catch up on.

Ed Milliband Visit to Milton Keynes - Monday 16th August 2010

Went straight from work to the Heelands Meeting Place to help set the hall up armed with the Labour Party membership forms given to me by Cllr Kevin Wilson to put out on each chair.

I met Andrew Pakes outside the meeting place along with Pete Marland who turned up by taxi, followed by the caretaker who opened the building up.

We all agreed to put the top table at the rear full length windows rather then the full length windows to the front to avoid any possible onlookers walking by, then we proceeded to get the chairs in a horse shoe formation out along also with Co-op Party membership forms (provided by Pete Marland) to be put out on each chair.

Pete asked me to ensure to direct latecomers to any spare seats at the end of the seating rows so I stood outside holding the door open welcoming every one in to the meeting, it got tricky with people parking along Glovers Lane and the local centre car park once the meeting place small car park was full.

Andrew Pete and Kevin were with me outside when Ed Milliband (open shirted and no tie) and his team arrived he shook us all by the hand, and then asked if there was a spare room he could use to put his tie on, which Andrew then escorted him to the room nearest the main hall, as I was still outside I saw the curtain pulled back where he must of been using the window as a reflection to make sure his tie was straight could of been quite a surreal sight if anyone at the point was walking by.

As I was still welcoming latecomers in and ensuring somehow that they could stand somewhere (as by that time all seats were taken and the room was filled to the max must of been 80 plus there in all) so I did not really have a chance to hear what Ed had to say, and I was constantly looking at the door in case any one else arrived (things got a bit tricky trying to help a lady in with her motorised scooter at one point.)

Ed was asked a range of questions on his bid for the Labour Leadership but one questioner stuck in my mind an 11 year old called Daniel who asked how the environment can be saved without damage to the economy and could he multi task, as an aside to this young Daniel bless him got very nervous at the start and could not get his question out and so Ed asked his name which he did so and he said it was a very good name as that was the name of his son which totally put him at his ease and away he went. 

Ed took questions in blocks of 4 and kept taking more and more questions but his team were giving him looks to say time was up but he said he would carry on even though he would not be very popular with them.

Just before the meeting broke up I was asked to take the bucket and catch people before they were leaving for donations which I quite enjoyed with Ellie's help we raised over £140 (which she was counting on the floor after everyone left) Ed meanwhile was having photograhs taken and chatting with wellwishers.

As he was leaving he asked Andrew if he felt it went well and talked about the battlebus and how it wasn't very comfortable to travel in and his team often drove to meetings instead and were looking forward to get something to eat by now it was 9:30pm.

Once they left we all went out through the back door and through the bins area to the gate whiched opened out to the car park at least I did not have far to go home!

Afterwards my evening got really surreal, got home and there was a mailshot from Ed Milliband's Campaign Team, then switched on my mobile phone and there was a message left asking if I will be supporting Ed Milliband from his campaign's volunteer telephone bank what are the odds of that happening in one evening!