I don’t believe a word of these opinion polls giving Labour a vast majority. For a start opinion polls are a snapshot of some people’s opinions, not an accurate prediction of the future. And pollsters get it wrong. There’s no agreed methodology and when their predictions go awry they simply say oops and move on.
My sense is that millions of votes are in play right now, with people starting to decide what to do on 4 July. But there’s a long way to go, and things are volatile. That’s why Labour has a rigorous strategy of targeting battleground seats and focusing the effort on the places we need to win.
Eastbourne is twinned with our nearest battleground which is Hastings & Rye, where the excellent Labour candidate is Helena Dollimore.
On Saturday a determined band from Eastbourne joined campaigners from Hastings and also Mitcham & Morden CLP to knock on doors in Rye. I’ve seldom seen such a positive response. People knew Helena, had seen Labour’s leaflets, and were coming over to Labour.
We’ll be going to battle in Hastings again soon, so do come along. Watching Hastings turn red from blue on election night will be a real treat.
