Election Season is Gearing up in Newark - Pictorial

It's taken a while, probably because everyone is resigned to Newark returning to its status as a quiet backbencher backwater after the excitement of last year's by election. But the last couple of days in town we've seen an increase in activity, stalls appeared in the market square, and candidates have been door stepping on the estates.

UKIP have got their "shop" open - there was a bit of "confusion" over change of planning use. Not sure what you can buy there. Purple balloons maybe.

No-one comes to see me of course, in my little cul-de-sac, although I've had a few leaflets pushed through the letterbox. There's a lot of activity in the local and district council elections however, with a strong group of independent candidates putting themselves forward.

I've also been told by more than one person that the chap standing in my ward for UKIP is the brother of Dragon's Den's Duncan Bannantyne. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea.

I will let the pictures tell the story.

Si

Shy and retiring Tory party worker Adam Pykett

Conservative stall cunningly sited next to a stall appealing for support for a special needs school that has been falling to bits on their watch

The only way we will see the back of Robert Jenrick

UKIP's secretariat for youth policy

UKIP spokesmen for health and wellbeing

UKIP worker leafleting

I'd say this voter has made up their mind

Adam again, with Green candidate Elayne Forster

Green stall

Lib Dems, hoping for a glorious...saving of deposit

Consensus Party - formed by last year's hospital candidate Andy Baggaley who is standing for the council this year. 

The Newark Election Pictorial is Back!

So, I've been starting to compile some photographs of Newark's build up to the 2015 General Election. Activity so far is low key compared to the 2014 By-Election, only Tories, Greens and UKIP appear to have offices in town, I've not seen the Consensus headquarters, and according to a local Tory councillor I know, Labour and Lib-Dems aren't bothering after their 2014 showing.

As for campaigning, only UKIP seem to be busy outside their office, which used to be a shop supporting a local homeless charity. It is thus rather satisfying that their 2014 office nearer the town centre is being used by a homeless guy as a home. The doorway anyway.

The Tories are using their MPs office next to the Conservative club, where in the old days I lobbied Patrick Mercer over unfair entry level minimum wage contracts and he responded with his characteristic random trumpeting sounds before saying anything, rather like the Professor Welch of Kingsley Amis' classic "Lucky Jim". No-one is expecting his successor Robert Jenrick to lose, so no need to bother with the expense of running an office in town.

The Greens are using the "Wildways" gaming shop as their campaign office, opposite Morrisons in a second storey base. I fully intend to pay them a visit, so watch out for that!

Si

Passsing shoppers are unsuspecting of the horrors that lurk within

Pop in for immigration rants and a free balloon

This sign hasn't been "altered" with an extra letter yet

Young fans queue up to meet Robert Jenrick

"There's an old piano and its playing hot, behind the green doooooaaarrrr"

Vote green and get a free dragon

I for one would relish the chance to shove him through a letterbox, like Goldfinger getting sucked through the plane window