An interesting development in the last week of this by-election was the Conservatives calling on people not to vote Labour because,
“Gordon Brown and Dover’s Labour MP “Three Home Prosser” don’t know what it’s like to live on a law income when the cost of living is rising… The give us a lot of chat, but they don’t really care. We deserve better than that.”
I am sure many Conservative candidates will enjoy being told that people who own more than one property are unfit to hold public office.
I fought Gwyn Prosser in two general elections. He once described me a “political streetfighter”. We don’t exactly send each other Christmas cards. But he did not come from an affluent background when he grew up in Swansea. To imply he is some sort of rich toff is outrageous.
If the Conservatives want to reduce elections to class politics, on the basis of who has or has not known life on a low income, they should consider their own Parliamentary Candidate, Charles Elphicke.
He went to a private school in Essex, earns a six-figure salary at a London tax law firm, his wife is also a city solicitor, owns at least two homes and doesn’t send his children to school in the constituency (Gwyn Prosser did, one his daughters was in my year).
The District Council’s register of interests shows that the Leader of the Council, Paul Watkins “has an interest in” three properties in Deal, as well as his villa in Spain and about half a dozen other Conservative councillors have two or more residential addresses in the District (there are also the properties some councillor own outside the District, which do not appear on the register).
According to the Conservative campaign in this by-election, it seems they think their own Parliamentary Candidate and a number of their councillors are unfit to represent local people!
Of course, the reality is Conservatives do not see anything wrong with second homes. But they will say anything that they think will win votes.
