General Election 2010: Focus on Colne Valley

May 4 2010 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

General Eleciton 2010: Focus on Colne Valley

CLR Nicola Turner believes the views of an elderly man in Lindley are one indication that the Colne Valley election is swinging her way.

“I was canvassing in Reinwood a few days ago,” said the Lib Dem candidate.

“An old man stopped me in the street and said he’d voted Labour for the last 10 general elections – but he would be voting for me this time.

“When you’re getting that kind of response, it shows that things are going really well.”

Clr Turner is hoping a surge in Lib Dem support nationally will help her party come from third place to take the crucial marginal seat.

She was boosted by a visit from party leader Nick Clegg to Marsden on Sunday.

Clr Turner said: “It wasn’t just Lib Dem activists at the event, there were people there who I’d never seen before. They were saying they’re absolutely fed up and ready for a change.”

Clr Turner’s campaign has been causing waves in the last few weeks – with both Labour and the Conservatives complaining about Lib Dem leaflets. The flyers claim the results of the last three Kirklees Council elections show Labour’s Debbie Abrahams “can’t win” in Colne Valley.

Clr Turner is adamant that Labour voters should support her to keep the Tories out. She said: “It absolutely is a two-horse race between us and the Conservatives.

“Support for Labour has fallen since the last General Election in 2005. We’ve been very honest about the figures we use. They are from the last three council elections. If Debbie Abrahams is unhappy, she can use some other figures.”

Jason McCartney is also in confident mood ahead of Thursday’s crucial vote.

The Conservative candidate said: “It’s going very well,’’ he said. “We’ve run a positive campaign and that’s really paid off. People are fed up with the old negative politics.”

Mr McCartney added that issues on the doorstep were a mixture of the local – gritting, potholes and dog fouling – and the national, like the economy and immigration.

He said: “We’ve got a robust policy to put a cap on immigration which contrasts very well with the daft policies of the Lib Dems, like giving illegal immigrants an amnesty and setting up regional immigration policies.”

Unlike Clr Turner, Mr McCartney is not counting Labour out of the campaign.

“The Labour vote is holding up,’’ he said. “If we finish above Labour, we’ll win the seat.

“I don’t see how the Lib Dems can say Labour can’t win here when this is a Labour-held seat.”

Mr McCartney does not believe the Lib Dems can win in the Colne Valley. He said: “The Clegg surge is passing and the Lib Dems are falling back in the polls. They have finished third in this constituency for the last 20 years. It’s between Labour and us.”