In memoriam Chris Lightfoot, may you rest in peace.
Dear Liberal Democrat Party,
Thank you for the piece of election literature you recently put through my door showing Ed Sexton in second place in the 2005 County Council elections. In the interests of keeping the voters informed in this City Council election, I have updated your literature with data from the 2006 City Council election.
I trust you will use the more up-to-date leaflet in any future campaigning.
Yours sincerely,
Pete Stevens
The original material as supplied
The official response.
Hi, Thanks for your e-mail. 2005 was the last occasion prior to this year that the Lib Dems were able to run a proper election campaign in Abbey ward. You would have, unfortunately, not received any Abbey leaflets from the Lib Dems through your door this time last year, although we have delivered several in the area outside election time since then. As a result, I think this graph is a more accurate reflection of the political situation going into this election than any other, though I have no doubt that people in other parties will disagree. Alternatively, 2004 was the last time that this particular seat was fought, i.e. when Caroline Hart, the defending Labour councillor, was elected, and it would not be out of place to use that comparison (though which Con/LD/Grn candidate you should compare Caroline Hart's vote with is obviously open to dispute). The 2006 result is, of course, another perfectly sensible comparison to use, and I would not quarrel with anyone who did so. With best wishes, Kevin Wilkins Lib Dem Agent for Abbey