Michael Lord (Con) 22,333
Neil MacDonald (Lab) 14,774
Andrew Housley (LD) 10,709
John West (UKIP) 1,754
Martin Wolfe (Green) 1,593
Officially the swing is 4.1% from Lab to Con but clearly the votes have shifted from Lab to LD.
The result was reported in the local press and you can click to read the reports for the East Anglian, Evening Star and the Norfolk paper Eastern Daily Press. The EDP also has a colourful graph here.
Election day is a busy time for hard working candidates and their team. We concentrated our efforts in North Ipswich and were able to leaflet the home of every Labour supporter. I was sunburned after a day out tramping the streets! In the evening we called on our supporters and asked them to go to vote. One lady said she was impressed that Labour had come to her door twice in the campaign, so that was a good bit of feedback.
Rain stopped play at about 8pm and a tour of the polling stations revealed that the number of people who had voted in the most pro-Labour areas was much lower than in the more pro-Tory areas. We had dinner and went off to the count at Stowmarket.
It was a long night at the count. The ballot boxes come in and the ballot papers emptied out for counting. This is a three stage process: verification, sorting by candidate and then the actual counting. During verification we can make a sample of the vote and this throws up a couple of surprises. After that we can't do much except watch TV - it's pleasing that the BBC are predicting a 70 seat majority. Bill, my agent, is pleased when Birmingham Edgbaston is held for Labour because his father has been an activist there for many years and immediately calls him.
It's obvious from the gallery that Sir Michael has more votes than me and indeed he doubled his majority as former Labour voters changed to the LibDems and Greens. The announcement is made and all the candidates get a turn with the microphone to address the hall. A brief interview with the EADT, Evening Star and EDP before a turn at the Radio Suffolk microphone. "What's next for you?" asks the reporter. I'm afraid it's back to the day job on Monday!
The last day before the poll was spent with a small team in Kesgrave. It wasn't the best day for it, being colder and slightly damp. We were able to leaflet large parts of the town, as Kesgrave now is, run a street stall outside Tesco and canvass in the evening. I have to say that we didn't get as good a response to the street stall as we did on our previous stall at Kesgrave. Perhaps it was the weather?
On the Sunday before the election I attended a hustings meeting, organised by the churches in North Ipswich. This was the first time that the five candidates had been on the same platform. We faced a wide range of questions, which had been pre-submitted, and some supplementary questions from the audience. Some questions were typical questions on immigration and Europe but more specific questions were asked on assisted dying, council tax on church houses and christian family values.
My Agent said I came over very well but that I answered the questions instead of making party political points like the other candidates.
It was a good experience and made a welcome change from pounding the streets!
On Friday morning I visited Mayo Court, which is a sheltered housing scheme run by Ipswich Borough Council. I was well received and struck by the friendliness of the residents. I was ribbed about my yellow shirt and green tie as those are Norwich colours! Mental note to always wear my Labour tie in future!
In the afternoon I had a meeting with the director of Suffolk Wildlife Trust. They manage several small nature reserves with about 35 full time staff and 1500 volunteers. They also provide consultancy to developers and councils on environmental matters. On the Parham windfarm, they say there is no environmental issue with going ahead whereas with Snoasis, there is an issue with bats and newts. What interested (and disappointed) me most was that it is very difficult to recreate most wildlife habitats, which makes human developments very damaging to the natural world.
Out canvassing on Friday evening on the Whitehouse estate - six times more voters for than against. I was very tired by this point so I am glad there weren't too many long discussions on the doorstep.
I was on Radio Suffolk this morning. It made a good change from normal canvassing. There was Sir Michael and the LibDem candidate with Mark Murphy in the chair. Firstly we were quizzed on our manifesto and then we were joined by three students from Northgate High School - one supporter from each party. The candidates were given three minutes each to lay out their case and then we were joined in debate by the students.
Trust was the first issue, as it was the big story with the leaking of Goldsmith's advice. Clearly a difficult area for Labour and especially Tony Blair. I think you have to look at Blair's wider record so I praised his commitment to health and educations and his world leadership on issues such as climate change and global poverty. Education, especially tuition fees, was debated at length and we finished up with global warming. There is clear green water between the other two candidates and myself as they are opposed to building a windfarm at Parham.
All in all a good experience. I then had a meeting at Endeavour House with a County Council officer before getting home for an afternoon at the computer. Today, the early evening canvassing was in Castle Hill, Ipswich and we were joined by colleagues from Wickham Market. It was a cold wind that blew but we got a warm response on the doorstep again.
Wednesday was a busy day. I started off at work - my day job in IT - with a three hour review of my most recent design blueprint. So that kept me on my toes for the morning. My constituency is profiled in the EADT so I get a mention.
Dropped some leaflets for Rushmere off with a friend who will deliver them and then drove over to Stratford Court to meet the residents.
Stratford Court is a sheltered housing scheme run by the Borough Council. The residents are generally happy but have complaints about drafts, kitchen improvements and council tax but are generally supportive of Labour. We then leafleted in the immediate area with the County Election Address.
I managed to have a rather late lunch before being interviewed by the Diss Express - a weekly paper important in the North of Suffolk.
In the evening we hit Bramford with a canvass team. It was a bit quiet as people took advantage of a beautiful evening but we still came away with more for than against.
No rest back at home because people to write to me to ask my views so I called, emailed and wrote to people as appropriate. Finally, wrote a small speech for Radio Suffolk tomorrow before falling fast asleep.
Tuesday started with a drive up to the North of the constituency. because I was invited to Wilby primary school, near Stradbroke. I met the head who showed me around. It is a small rural school with just 60 pupils and a nursery class, which is shared with a neighbouring school. I was shown round the school and then questioned by some of the school children. They asked questions on a wide range of subjects including schools, crime (there hasn't been a recorded crime in the nearby village of Wingfield for five years), hospitals, Iraq, stealth taxes, immigration, smoking and global warming. Very good questions.
I drove back via Framlingham and had some time on the phone. Was on my own as my agent was dropping poster boards and leaflets across mid Suffolk. Dropped more Rushmere leaflets at a local party member and then reported for canvassing at Whitehouse. However, the campaign team were keen to deliver as many election addresses for the County Council elections as possible. So in the spirit of teamwork and collective endeavour, I went leafleting.
Then had a chat with councillor for Bramford and the candidate for Gipping Valley, just to keep abreast of what's going on and the latest on Snoasis.
The last full week of campaigning starts with Monday morning at a sheltered housing scheme in Ipswich. We generally get a good reception. Many people speak warmly about how much better off they are under Labour and most mention the Winter Fuel Allowance, without being prompted. It seems to be very popular with pensioners.
A campaign planning meeting with my Agent follows and then I spent the afternoon on the phone. Delivered some leaflets to a volunteer deliverer in Grange Farm - she had Sir Michael at her door the night before - extra help is always welcome.
Evening spent canvassing on the Whitton estate in Ipswich. Generally a good reception but immigration is the biggest issue. I do think that the Labour Government is taking this seriously and I do have some good facts to put to people on the doorstep. The Tories have definitely put immigration on the agenda I don't think that it is translating into votes for them. Many people are reassured by what we have to say and whose who are really bothered will be looking for a more right wing party.
I then attended a meeting with Chris Mole, Labour's candidate in Ipswich, and the local group who are campaigning for Trade Justice. I have a strong interest in this area and we have a good debate. Labour are spearheading the movement to improve the lives of ordinary Africans and I think the group recognised that. They do want the Government to go further, so hopefully we can work with them to make change happen faster.
Then when I got home there were two phone calls to be made. Firstly to a supporter in the country who had not had any communication from the Labour party - she offered to take a garden poster. Secondly to our organiser for Rushmere. He has just become a grandfather and is now back from visiting his new grandchild - he can now get on with delivering 2000 leaflets round his ward!
Just a quick plug for www.tacticalvoter.net. In seats where the second party has at least 60% of the vote and the Tory majority is under 20% they arrange for Labour and LibDem supporters to meet via email and arrange to swap their votes.
My constituency is listed here and tacticalvoter.net says
Labour are best placed to unseat the Conservative MP here. With the help of Lib Dems swapping to vote Labour, it can be done.
If you're a Lib Dem supporter or a progressive voter who is prepared to vote Labour here and would like to encourage a vote for the Lib Dems elsewhere, you can register to "swap" your vote. We'll put you in touch by e-mail with someone considering supporting Labour in another marginal. You agree to vote Labour, they agree to vote Lib Dem and you both do your bit to keep the Conservatives on the back foot
Couldn't have put it better myself!
