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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/nov/14/police-and-crime-commissioners-police-cheshire-martin-bell-sarah-flannery
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Don't stay at home or spoil your PCC ballot paper. Vote Independent | Don't stay at home or spoil your PCC ballot paper. Vote Independent |
| (8 days later) | |
| Less than 24 hours to go until the polling stations open for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections and a potentially reluctant electorate drags itself to the polls. | Less than 24 hours to go until the polling stations open for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections and a potentially reluctant electorate drags itself to the polls. |
| Or, if much of the media and political talking heads are to be believed, the electorate is either going to stay home or spoil their ballot papers. | Or, if much of the media and political talking heads are to be believed, the electorate is either going to stay home or spoil their ballot papers. |
| As election agent for Cheshire's Independent candidate Sarah Flannery, I find myself taking these articles personally. I know it's silly but when you support an Independent candidate, people aren't brought together by party political dogma, don't have a party machine behind them to pay the election bills, and don't have a ready-made team of people who will go and 'knock-up' the vote. | As election agent for Cheshire's Independent candidate Sarah Flannery, I find myself taking these articles personally. I know it's silly but when you support an Independent candidate, people aren't brought together by party political dogma, don't have a party machine behind them to pay the election bills, and don't have a ready-made team of people who will go and 'knock-up' the vote. |
| Sarah (and I for that matter) have, for the past three months, worked seven days a week and almost around the clock to get the 'Vote Independent' message out to some 850,000 voters in a county measuring 2,343 km2 (905 sq mls), represented by 11 MPs in the Houses of Parliament. | Sarah (and I for that matter) have, for the past three months, worked seven days a week and almost around the clock to get the 'Vote Independent' message out to some 850,000 voters in a county measuring 2,343 km2 (905 sq mls), represented by 11 MPs in the Houses of Parliament. |
| Sarah's been supported by members of the Cheshire Independent Network made up of serving Parish, Town and Borough Independent Councillors and people interested in standing as an Independent candidate in the future. She's also been supported by, amongst others, a posse of Chester students who have distributed 10,000 leaflets, a man who volunteered to leaflet his village, and a woman who was concerned no-one in her street knew about the Independent candidate and leafleted her neighbours. | Sarah's been supported by members of the Cheshire Independent Network made up of serving Parish, Town and Borough Independent Councillors and people interested in standing as an Independent candidate in the future. She's also been supported by, amongst others, a posse of Chester students who have distributed 10,000 leaflets, a man who volunteered to leaflet his village, and a woman who was concerned no-one in her street knew about the Independent candidate and leafleted her neighbours. |
| Her campaign has also been backed US style by the Congleton Chronicle series of newspapers. Theirs is a family-owned independent newspaper group with a readership of around 42,000. | Her campaign has also been backed US style by the Congleton Chronicle series of newspapers. Theirs is a family-owned independent newspaper group with a readership of around 42,000. |
| It's at this stage of the campaign you forget just how hard it was to get the £5,000 together for the deposit. Thanks to a £2,000 contribution from a Cheshire Conservative, we made it. Donations for the deposit were accepted on the basis that any contribution of £50-plus will be returned when the deposit is returned. | It's at this stage of the campaign you forget just how hard it was to get the £5,000 together for the deposit. Thanks to a £2,000 contribution from a Cheshire Conservative, we made it. Donations for the deposit were accepted on the basis that any contribution of £50-plus will be returned when the deposit is returned. |
| To provide some campaign funding, auctioneer Adam Partridge of BBC's Flog it!, who lives in Cheshire, got together with Marco Dellapina of Knutsford's ViaVia restaurant to stage an auction of anything from Cop Cakes (a lovely campaign talking point) to a boxed set of kitchen knives! | To provide some campaign funding, auctioneer Adam Partridge of BBC's Flog it!, who lives in Cheshire, got together with Marco Dellapina of Knutsford's ViaVia restaurant to stage an auction of anything from Cop Cakes (a lovely campaign talking point) to a boxed set of kitchen knives! |
| Proceeds from the auction paid for the printing of 60,000 leaflets. | Proceeds from the auction paid for the printing of 60,000 leaflets. |
| My home is the campaign address and the 'office' is a dining table in my re-christened Independentry. Our main tools are a laptop, an iPad and a mobile phone. Social media has been vital to the campaign – using the website, Twitter, Facebook etc effectively costs nothing but time. Because we've both been concerned about the Government's decision not to allow the usual free leaflet distribution and the way the online choosemypcc campaign has disenfranchised so many people without computers, we've made sure to post information or get someone to drop it off – often Sarah herself. | My home is the campaign address and the 'office' is a dining table in my re-christened Independentry. Our main tools are a laptop, an iPad and a mobile phone. Social media has been vital to the campaign – using the website, Twitter, Facebook etc effectively costs nothing but time. Because we've both been concerned about the Government's decision not to allow the usual free leaflet distribution and the way the online choosemypcc campaign has disenfranchised so many people without computers, we've made sure to post information or get someone to drop it off – often Sarah herself. |
| Sarah has been indefatigable in campaigning. She's driven miles across Cheshire, talked to tens of thousands of people – who mostly had to have the job of PCC explained to them before she could even start to campaign for their vote, and had a phone almost permanently attached to her ear. | Sarah has been indefatigable in campaigning. She's driven miles across Cheshire, talked to tens of thousands of people – who mostly had to have the job of PCC explained to them before she could even start to campaign for their vote, and had a phone almost permanently attached to her ear. |
| So you'll understand why I tut, and often swear, at the way political pundits encourage people not to vote or to spoil their vote. Frankly, I'd rather they tell people to Vote Independent. That would be a real wake-up call to all the political parties! | So you'll understand why I tut, and often swear, at the way political pundits encourage people not to vote or to spoil their vote. Frankly, I'd rather they tell people to Vote Independent. That would be a real wake-up call to all the political parties! |
| Being Sarah's election agent for this campaign has been great fun, extremely hard work, and, some nights, has resulted in me sleeping on the sofa. | Being Sarah's election agent for this campaign has been great fun, extremely hard work, and, some nights, has resulted in me sleeping on the sofa. |
| My husband has been in charge of cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing and been a tower of strength. He only 'lost it' once when last Friday he found himself cooking dinner for former Tatton MP Martin Bell. A step too far out of his comfort zone. | My husband has been in charge of cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing and been a tower of strength. He only 'lost it' once when last Friday he found himself cooking dinner for former Tatton MP Martin Bell. A step too far out of his comfort zone. |
| Martin was back in Knutsford to campaign with Sarah around the county on Saturday, travelling in a vintage VW campervan driven by a new supporter Dean Davies, who contacted Sarah via twitter. | Martin was back in Knutsford to campaign with Sarah around the county on Saturday, travelling in a vintage VW campervan driven by a new supporter Dean Davies, who contacted Sarah via twitter. |
| I'm not sure if it's an omen but Martin stayed in the same hotel he'd lived in during the 1997 campaign and did a short video on Knutsford Heath, site of the famous Tory ambush. | I'm not sure if it's an omen but Martin stayed in the same hotel he'd lived in during the 1997 campaign and did a short video on Knutsford Heath, site of the famous Tory ambush. |
| Martin's message about Sarah is: | Martin's message about Sarah is: |
| You couldn't possibly have a better candidate for Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Sarah is a bundle of Independent-minded energy. | You couldn't possibly have a better candidate for Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Sarah is a bundle of Independent-minded energy. |
So get out there and vote! There will be a Police and Crime Commissioner in Cheshire no matter how low the turnout or how many spoiled votes. And once you're in the polling station, mark an X for Sarah as your first choice. | So get out there and vote! There will be a Police and Crime Commissioner in Cheshire no matter how low the turnout or how many spoiled votes. And once you're in the polling station, mark an X for Sarah as your first choice. |
| Julie Tempest is agent for Sarah Flannery, independent candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire. | Julie Tempest is agent for Sarah Flannery, independent candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire. |
| The Northerner welcomes post from any candidate in the elections in the north. You can see the full list of those standing on this earlier post here. | The Northerner welcomes post from any candidate in the elections in the north. You can see the full list of those standing on this earlier post here. |
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