Missing the target - Lib Dem style

I have a few anecdotes this time.

The grapevine said a few weeks ago the Lib Dems were busy doing a spot of phone canvassing, actually they had phoned a member of my campaign team who surrepticiously told them many of the things they wanted to hear.

Now last week they phoned a bit closer to home, literally! My mother got a call and was rather blunt on the phone. If you know that I am the Plaid Cymru candidate, Penri James, Taigwynion, Llandre it doesn't take much deduction to conclude that other James' with a similar address and postcode might be related. Obviously no local knowledge available and any research absent. One of the Lib Dem staffers lives in Llandre and should know, however in traditional Lib Dem style he is renowned for being reclusive.

On the same night my wife got a call, I had mentioned that this was happening and she had the foresight to note down the content of the call. It was a female Lib Dem campaign worker on the phone and the conversation went something like this:-

[LibDem] Hello I am phoning on behalf of Mark Williams your local MP. Phoning to see whether he can get your support in the election

[My Wife] Possibly - Could you give me a reason why I should vote for Mark Williams

[LibDem] Mark Williams is local and is working hard on your behalf and has not been caught up in the expenses scandal. He is very productive.

[My Wife] I am glad to hear - Can you give me one example of something he has done or achieved since becoming an MP?

[EXTENDED SILENCE]

[LibDem] ......well I am sorry I am afraid I can't.......... but I can send you some literature if you want

[My Wife] Yes I have received some literature but if you want to send some more you can do so. You said Mark Williams was local are you local yourself?

[SILENCE]

[LibDem] .....I am very sorry but I am not local. I am from Cardiff. I am phoning from Lib Dem Central Office in Cardiff. We have a 3 pronged system and we are phone canvassing from here to get a feel of where we are. Mark Williams is always in the local newspaper

[My Wife] Yes he certainly is

[LibDem] and he is good with people in home care and also people with cancer. Can we hope for your support?

[My Wife] Well I would like to know more because I want to vote for the best candidate

[LibDem] I am very sorry I can't answer your questions but I will make sure we send you something...

Just in case you are worried, my wife is not doing a Sam Cam impersonation, she will be voting for me! If you are describing on the phone how productive an MP is, it opens the conversation for a question on an example. Its a disaster when an example cannot be found.

In addition my eldest son, who is at University, received a letter from the Lib Dems outlining their pensions policy. It is important to consider pensions from an early age but its not high on a 19yr old's list of priorities. Since my son and I share a name, surname and address its not rocket science to work out that he might be related.

This week it was Mark Williams' turn for free publicity in the Cambrian News with his regular political column, it didn't appear. Its not the first time in recent months he has missed the deadline and lost his turn. With such an opportunity for unanswered propoganda it seems strange for it to happen.

What does this tell us all? It seems the Lib Dems are doing a lot of distance canvassing but their local information is not particularly good, the blunderbuss has come out of the gunstore rather than a more precise weapon and targetting is a bit slap dash. Despite having at least 3 staff on the taxpayer's payroll things are not being done, are they regretting having 2 of the staff as County Councillors and Town Mayors at the same time? Both now appear to be pyhrric victories especially if Mark Williams loses his seat in Parliament. I for one cannot believe how disorganised they seem to be! Mind you they could be running a cunning plan to deceive.....