CANVASSING

Yes we still do it, and more often than many of you may think.

I was out in Kentish Town on Sunday where there is a Council by-election this coming Thursday. As a Camden resident and a member of Holborn and St Pancras Labour Party, which includes Kentish Town, I wanted to make a contribution to the by-election. Added to which, the local campaign is being organised by Hilary Lowe, a long standing friend and stalwart Party activist.

We have an excellent candidate in Awale Olad, a local youth worker who lives in the ward, is a member of Kentish Town's Safer Neighbourhood Panel and is passionate about his area.

The by-election was caused as the sitting Liberal Democrat Councillor, Philip Thompson, secretly moved to Arizona. Unbelievably, the Lib Dem leadership in Camden tried to cover this up while Cllr Thompson continued to claim his £700 month allowance. He only owned up and resigned when he was exposed in the newspapers.

Given this controversy you may have expected the Lib Dems to select a real Kentish Town person. Not a bit of it. Nick Russell, the by-election candidate, lives in West Hampstead. What is more, he only moved there in 2005, following a tour of the United States. What is it about Camden Lib Dems and the USA?

Kentish Town deserves a campaigning local person who will put the interests of the ward and its people first. Awale is the only choice.