Darlingtonian Reflections
One of my Tory friends was telling me that Anthony Frieze was one of the leading first-time candidates for the Tories in this election. Well, judging by these results, he wasn't. I maintain that Milburn is a great MP, but people do not vote for MPs by and large - they vote for parties. When Labour were in for a kicking, a good candidate should be able to capitalise on anti-Labour sentiment, especially in a seat like Darlington which until boundary changes was always somewhat of a bellwether marginal.Of course, I have my own suspicions why he failed. Basically, he's obviously a southern no-hoper being parachuted into a safe Labour seat, biding his time for something elsewhere. And that just isn't going to play well in the North. I know, because many Tory voters I know made that comment to me. We're a funny bunch in the North-East, and we can be very parochial. Southerners coming in to go through the motions really aren't worth the effort.
posted by Ken @ 5:38 PM
<< Home