A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
Additional reporting from Chris Travis, Antonia Moura, Rachel Basch, Chloe Dean, Claire Curtis and Laura Lennkh.
Check back over the next few days for further coverage and comments.
01:51 According to Tom Scott our elections have seen the highest turnout of all the universities in the country. Although 23% isn't exactly impressive.
As the night draws to a close we can't help but note the amount of discontent amongst students, who said apathy is dead?
01:50 Our new YUSU President Elect Tim Ngwena says: "I feel very good, I feel relieved, very relieved. It's been months of hard work."
Reflecting on the year ahead Ngwena voices positive views: "I think the team is great, they represent the students and even though it was very close in certain cases, it just goes to show the calibre of the candidates."
01:47 Former YUSU presidential candidate Bushby told The Yorker: "I think we're going to have another year of uneffectual [sic] leadership. Tom deserved to win tonight. I'm disappointed with tonight's results. I don't think we are gonna see the development, improvement and growth of York University that we deserved. I'm glad I'm graduating this year."
01:44 Former YUSU Ac&Welf Officer, Grace Fletcher-Hackwood told us: "I'm disappointed two of my good friends lost. I find it disappointing personally. Langrish worked really hard over a long period." She has stressed that she thinks "the union will be in safe hands."
01:39 "Student fucking politics is dead!" exclaims one student.
01:35
01:34 24% turn out...
01:33 The crowds roar as the names of the candidates are announced...
Tom Scott announces: "In 3 months, someone is going to take over from me. They're going to have the worst job and the best job they will ever have."
01:31 They're playing the final countdown in L/N/028...
Bushby, in a drunken state, has told us "Tim shouldn't win! Tim can't win! The YUSU clan needs to be broken down, we need change!" Very strong words, but the exit polls suggest he won't be the man to make such a change... We'll have to wait and see though!
01:26 Lewis Bretts tells The Yorker reporter Claire Curtis: "I'm glad it's all over!" He says he's "really excited about it all" and is "very serious about all my policies, I feel I've set realistic ones."
01:18 With only one position left the candidates, if you didn't know already, are as follows:
Only Tom Scott, and apparently his IT help, know the answer to who has won... Watch this space!
01:12 With a drink in hand current York Sport President Alex Lacy told us we're great “and by great I mean shit”, bitter much?
01:11 Burton has advised his successor to have "thick skin!" and tells us to "expect some really good things for the next year." He's got four months left and it will, apparently, "be emotional when I leave." Unsurprising after all that time in the union!
01:05 Sharpe is eliminated... Screams a plenty.
Bretts takes the stage: "Being a candidate is a bit weird. Every single person who has put a poster up: I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'd like to thank Sharpy and George." For anyone who doubts YUSU: "Take a look round look at this bar, because that's what YUSU does!"
'Fix Up, Look Sharp' plays as we await President!
01:04 Democracy & Services Officer
Candidates:
It's close! Looking like Bretts or Durkin...
00:59 Emily Scott has told us that she looks forward to her term. "It's unexpected and so hard to judge! I thought it'd be right down to the wire." Describing it as "eighteenth months in the waiting" she can't wait to "focus more on sport with no more degree getting in the way!"
00:54 Elected student Activities Officer (and ex-Yorkerite) Kinchin speaks to YSTV as students dance to 'I see you baby'. The whole place is packed as we await the last two results: Democracy & Services and President.
00:51 Rory Shanks told The Yorker, "I think the year ahead is going to be an interesting one. I wish Rhianna all the best she had a good campaign." He wants to put in place some of the policies he campaigned with in the last few months he has in office.
00:48 The results are greeted with mixed views: "I think this is the one that disappoints me the most." Another another saying: "Thank fuck it's not Rory again."
00:42
Student Activities Officer Candidates:
"Thank you so much for voting for me! I'd also like to thank Ella and Rory, you've been great!" This was met by boos from the crowd. A second year Politics student told The Yorker "naked men are not a campaign, I'm disappointed."
00:38 York Sport President
Candidates:
Scott wins in the second round (graphs coming soon!) She wins with 1192 votes.
"You're amazing, thank you York! I think I'm the happiest person in the world right now!"
00:36 York Sport results are about to be announced. "Scott, Scott, Scott!" can be heard from L/N/028. Looks like a landslide for Scott...
00:31 Following vigorous interviews with YSTV, URY and Nouse we finally get a hold of our new Welfare Officer, Humphrys. "I didn't expect such a big win, especially because of the quality of the other candidates." He told us he's "very flattered and pleased." He seems keen to get stuck in!
00:27 With our blogging team so close to the bar (strategic positioning!) we can see The Courtyard appears to be making a killing. Burton comments that: "I wouldn't say it makes so much, it's all recycled into the union. As long as everyone is having a good time that's all that matters!"
00:20 Tom Scott has told us that "I feel absolutely bloody knackered." You and me both...
Following her re-election as Academic Officer Leyland has told The Yorker that "I am so excited and so pleased. I didn't have much time to campaign but I feel that the whole year has been a campaign."
00:17 In a short speech Humphrys thanked campaigners, supporters and voters.
Sarah Fennell who has worked with Ben for the past year described him as my other half" and told us that "I campaigned for Ben so obviously I know how brilliant he is but Matt had some good policies too!"
00:12 In the third round RON and Coyle have been eliminated and...
It's Humphrys with 937 against Pallas 768
00:10 Welfare first round
Humphrys:831 Pallas:664 Coyle: 598
00:08 Welfare Office
Candidates:
00:07 David Sharpe running for Democracy and Services, has told The Yorker: "the night isn't too bad, I'm quite nervous. All week I've been building myself up to not winning. The LGBT results have show how important voting is."
00:05 The first Sabbatical Officer of the night is announced: Academic Affairs Officer
Candidates:
"Thanks you so much! We'll do you proud. Email me whenever you want! Let me know your problems." Leyland becomes the second YUSU Officer to run for a second term, following Burton's re-election last year.
00:01 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!
Watch out for Academic Officer and Welfare Officer results in the next few minutes!
00:00 In a move that mirrors last year's AU President mess up we saw the first round showing, incorrectly, that Moldova and Ball win had won by 2 votes, whereas the actual results showed that Vince & Medley were in the lead, which became clear on the second round. What a close one!
23:57 Rumours suggest that Jenny Coyle, Welfare candidate, has no idea who has been elected so far. Watch this space for Welfare results!
23:57 Current LGBT Officer Sarah Fennell told The Yorker: "I'm really pleased with doorsafe. I think they did a fantastic job and I think the fact that something like that has happened really shows how important LGBT officers are! People wonder whether or not we're needed, and clearly we are."
23:52 Women's Officer Ellie Kuper Thomas told the Yorker: "Homophobia should NEVER be accepted on campus. It should be noted that that it was a woman who challenged him and a second woman who challenged him and brought doorsafe to the scene."
23:48 Two of our Yorker reporters are being interviewed by YSTV. How exciting!
23:44 A fight broke out following chants of "You queer bastards!" Doorsafe forced a man to the ground and threw him out the back door after a woman complained about his inappropriate comments and aggressive behaviour.
23:39 LGBT Officer Candidates:
The crowd goes wild! The results are so close. 817 to Madavo & Ball 814 for Vince & Medley and 181 to RON! A second round is needed.
The results are 822 to 824.
23:36 RAG Officer Candidates:
With a final total of 1346 Fry and Stones to 342 and 118 to RON.
A simple thanks as they take the stage.
23:34 Student Action
Candidates:
Total stands at 1475 to 187. "Go student action woo!" yells Hesselwood.
23:17 "The Sneddonator has to be favourite" according to ex-Yorker Sports Editor and vice-captain of the men's football team.
Doorsafe have confirmed that "there's no more than 600 people in there, that's for sure!" Hopefully more people are logging on to The Yorker to find out the results!
23:07 Women's Officer Candidates:
Final votes stand at 1485 for Kuper Thomas and Ali and 265 for RON.
Kuper Thomas and Ali announce: "We're not here for us! We're here for the women of York university!" and start to chant "Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no! Get involved with Women's Committee!"
23:05 Environment & Ethics Candidates:
1493 to 241. The winners take the stage and thank the voters. The audience cheer as they say they hope to see us all involved.
23:03 A quick chat with Chris Etheridge and Jason Rose reveals that both of them are "extremely happy and feel privileged." They were apparently "expecting" the RON vote but were happy to "win in all colleges" Although extremely close in some colleges, Lanqwith seeing the voter turn out at 99 to 64. They put this down to party politics, citing David Levene's high RON count.
22:46 Bushby and Bradley seem to be getting chummy as one half of the Women's Officer candidates threatens to complain about Britney's 'Womanizer' being played. So everyone's having fun!
Check out the sexy graphs if you cant be bothered reading our amazing commentary!
22:39 Yet another uncontested position...
Entertainment Officer
Candidates:
1525 to 274 to RON
"We're going to have a great time doing this for you!"
22:38 Disability
Candidates:
1480 votes to Cornock to 165 for RON.
22:36 Campaigns Officer Candidates:
With 1343 and 462 to RON
22:34 Check out the exit polls here
22:33 Up next is RAG, Entertainment and Disability Officer results. Watch this space for more interviews and news!
22:28 David speaks of his recent victories: "It's really great to have won, obviously, but I'm shocked about the result for NUS delegate. I'm looking forward to getting on with the job!"
He also confides in our editor Amy: "I'm a lot of things and media whore is most definitely one of them!"
22:28 Charlie Leyland told The Yorker: "I'm having a good night - I've just missed the results though because I was giving Matt Burton medicine: he's not very well. Apparently I've got NUS delegate, I'm very pleased."
22:24 Not sure how the single transferable vote system works? Check out the following podcast by URY's Rob Watts which explains it all.
22:19 We found the final presidential candidate! Tim told us that he's feeling confident but that he thinks it's going to be a very close race. "Even closer that the exit polls suggest. A lot has happened in the last few days."
22:13 Grant Bradley, running for YUSU president has told The Yorker "I'm nervous but prepared for the outcome; I loved every minute of my campaign! For those who have a chance of winning, it's going to be very close!"
22:08 Chair of Union Council Candidates: David Levene
David wins with 1314 votes to 337 RONs. He tries to give us a comment but has to run to the stage. Levene takes centre stage with "How many student politicians dose it take to change a lightbulb? Ony one but they need a Chair!!" Joke courtesy of Ellie Kuper Thomas who is also running for Women's Officer with Amal Ali.
22:05 Rachel Basch and Amy are in L/N/028 awaiting the first set of results. Seven people will be going to Blackpool as NUS delegates.
Candidates:
The crowd go wild! "David! David!!"
21:59 One of our reporters, Rachel Basch, has spoken to Charles Bushby, he is "feeling great, I'm enjoying life, I was interested in making some noise and I feel I've done that."
21:57 The Yorker has heard that voter turn out is down from last year's 27% with around 23% of those eligible actually casting their vote in these elections.
21:54 5 minutes until Chair of Union Council and NUS delegates are announced. Watch this space.
21:52 URY main man Scott Bryan is hovering nearby, we may be his next victims...
21:50 The dance floor (aka L/N/028)is looking empty but Amy just had a bit of a boogie with the other two girls there! Mandi Madavo is also having fun, "the atmosphere is really good!"
21:45 Things are hotting up but things have barely started yet! Langrish didn't look too happy but told us that he thinks "it's going to be a close race."
Langwith bar is getting fuller and fuller and we're getting hotter and hotter!
21:43 Ella-Grace Kirton has told The Yorker: "whether I win or lose, I'm still going to have a great night!" She hasn't seen the exit polls yet, we'll be bringing them to you soon.
21:35 Current and past YUSU officers are milling around, however only a few people seem to be dressed as Thunderbirds. Former YUSU Ac&Welf Officer Grace Fletcher-Hackwood told The Yorker "I really wanted to come back! I've got friends running I think all the positions are well-covered."
21:28 Well, we're finally in! Those who manage to get past the strict security (the future president is in here after all...) are slowly arriving in The Courtyard as we set our laptops up for a night of fun.
Check back here from 9pm for our live coverage or check out each update as it happens on our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/theyorkeruk
Yeah I'll agree with you some people did vote for that. But the majority I very much doubt did, and I'm just saying a good campaign does reflect a level of ability. A good officer is a very subjective term apart from the obvious.
If you really want me to comment on her campaign fine. I found it a good way to make YUSU more apparent to alot of people who previously would have no interest in it. You have to get people's first foot through the door somehow and a list of policies (regardless of how pretty you make it with photoshop) is unlikely to do it. I also felt she came across as inventive, well organised and committed. As you deal in the currency of personal experience (which is a great testimony sure, but probably limited), I can tell you a number of my acquaintances voted for her having heard her talk at their sports clubs and that they were impressed with her policies. Finally, I personally enjoyed campaigning for her and talking with people about her policies and ability, which also underlines the multi-faceted nature of campaigning in that it is not all aesthetics.
comment deleted by the author Nor perhaps, she is definitely more in touch with most students than I am, I do not deny that. But I do not think this is what makes a good student activities officer. Would be good for welfare, but not for this position.
Thomas, you criticise me for looking down upon the electorate. And for good reason, if they are persuaded to vote because they saw naked guys running around campus. You are effectively saying that her campaign got people interested in YUSU. If you expect me to respect people who started caring about politics because some people got naked, I am sorry, but I will disappoint.
To clarify any misunderstandings, this is not an attack on Rhianna, I am sure she will make a good officer. I have also talked with her, and know she has good policies. My problem is with the people who get persuaded to vote because of a flashy campaign.
A.
Aristidis, I was on 5 campaigns teams and Rhiannas was without a doubt the most well organised and effective.
People are making a big deal of the fact that a few of us ran around with K's on our chest handing out leaflets for her campaign. Students are mildly apathetic and the reality is that the visual element will have encouraged some people to take note of the elections, but I don't see how it can be claimed that this led to a sizeable victory. When campaigners went upto individuals they didn't say 'vote Rhianna because we're topless' they said 'check out her policies on her posters or on facebook and then vote on YUSU.org' it wasn't some irresponsible campaign and I find it very degrading that this seems to be the opinion that is being esposued.
If people saw this element of the campaign alone and voted for Rhianna they did so because it showed organisation, it showed her thinking outside of the campaigning box and it showed dedication from the people supporting her (many of whom are the sort of people who will have to work with the student activities officer). Importantly Rhianna was also there on both runs too, it wasn't a faceless campaign and it was part of a massive multi-faceted approach similar to the Flynnian approach used for Bretts. I urge you to compare the policies listed for Kinchin and Shanks on facebook groups, there really isn't as much in it as people are trying to make out.
The positions all have differant skill sets, and the position of 'Student Activities' requires someone who is not only organised and innovative as mentioned above but someone who is in touch with the student body.
Rhianna and Rory both had fantastic experience and are very well rounded inidividuals, the excessive focus on four or five topless males on one side is absurd. Rory is a candidate and officer who I have enormous amounts of respect for and I know he would have handled a second year well, but Rhiannas campaign in all of it's forms showed that she had all the skills necessary for a sabs position and people clearly recognised that.
Also with regard to the 'How did packs of cereals hint to her personality?' line of arguement it should be remembered that Rorys campaign posters played on a near identical theme. In Rhiannas case it was better utilised as it was a visual strategy that tied in to the wider campaign without coming out of a campaigns budget.
I wonder how many people who are claiming popularity as the reason for Tim's victory have actually met both candidates and spoken to them in depth about their ideas, goals and policies?
Not many. As one of the (presumably) few and as someone who initially saw Langrish as the only serious contender, I can say that Tim's enthusiasm, confidence, breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding won me over.
Both Tim and Tom would have made excellent presidents.
To be honest I think you've not really got a firm grasp on the idea of democracy, why can't you respect that not every one has the same value system as you? Everyone has different interests, which may limit participation in other spheres.
'my problem is with the people....' - I don't even know where to begin with this statement it's so ridiculous.
Unlike you, I have a very good grasp of what democracy means, which is why I do not value it.
Do not keep defending Rhianna's policies, I already said I know they are good.
Yes, that statement seems ridiculous out of context, as you used it. In context though, it is not ridiculous at all to claim that people who voted because they saw naked campaigners lack some depth.
Finally, the reason I consider my value system superior to the one of the people in question, because mine does not lead to contradictions. These voters, however, have a problem with YUSU, in that they feel it does not represent them, it is not efficient etc. Yet, when they can change all this, they do not bother looking into candidates profiles, but simply vote for whoever caught their attention.
A.
I think people forget that were students at this campus and it’s not the houses of parliament. Yes policy is important and both Tom and Tim had policies which were well informed and thought through, however a campaign is the toll you use to communicate policies. So lets look at how we communicate policies.
Students don’t like paper full of text, they pay to get these from their departments or fight for them in the key text section. Those that will accept the paper will not spend longer than 5 minutes (being very generous) looking at policies. You need around 40 to read the policies of all candidates running for a single position. Thirdly, students don’t know if policies are good or not unless they are informed on the issues, so current officers and active students in YUSU , JCRC and societies are well informed but the rest don’t really know much about the media charter or UGMs.
The dilemma we then have is we’re asking students to vote for something they are not interested in or don’t have direct input in. 1 Way of solving this is through creative campaigning. Attract their attention and then they have a greater chance of looking at your policies and publicity, another is to go out and speak to people for 2 minutes and they will listen. Inform them on why they should vote, and give them a choice, don’t just plug your policies, tell them to contrast and compare with others. But most importantly and this is what wins votes.
If you can make the students you campaign to feel as if you know them or their needs but more importantly have a solution and a thought through plan then they feel you have related to them and you introduce a personal aspect to your campaign which is the strongest form of campaign.
All 5 full time sabbs elected last night did exactly that especially rhianna, lewis and Tim. Rhianna with her special K campaign not only had the “eye catching publicity” but she talked to everyone who saw it or engaged with it. Her policies were solid and to an extent held more water than rory whose main message was “I’ve already got the job let me do it again”
Lewis was in Vanbrugh day after day campaigning, I dint see anything from Ed until week 2 of campaign which was frankly very late! Ed was out in person and apart from the Alcuin guaranteed vote, he really didn’t fare well against Bretts in policy and campaign.
Even Tim managed to get his campaigners to poster and flyer in weeks 1 combined with his facebook attack of “little Tim” and only in week 2 did he start campaigning as a result of Fusion commitments. He gets attacked for being popular but the bad taste team is 20 strong and fusion cast 450 ... 1300 voted for him. The 1650 who watched the show were a sample of students from campus and if they were impressed with the show then i don’t see why they can’t use that as basis for their decision. That was 2 weeks ago. Tom has been involved in student politics for 2 years and has had a much larger impact, from NUS to B Henrys to vice chair of Alcuin to chairing union council as well as work for the GSA. That’s 4 groups whose membership combined is much larger than the fusion cast and bad taste and he’s gained more popularity especially within student life in that time. Furthermore, his campaign team was tactically chosen with several JCRC heads and society heads involved. Tim’s was made purely out of his close friends.
So Lewis, Rhianna, and Tim seem to be the focus of debate here for their victories last night but all three actually faced candidates with either flawed campaign tactics or policies and a much larger advantage in terms of reach.
I voted for Tom Ed and Rhianna, and although I’m disappointed with the loss of Tom and Ed, Tim and Lewis equally impressed and I think people need to be move on and let the newly elected candidates do the job they’ve been elected into !
Bit harsh, Aris. Rhianna will be looking after societies, charities etc. so to show that she has a "fun" side is pretty good. She also had a lot of serious policies and I'm sure that she'll take good policies from the other two candidates on board as well. I doubt many people voted for her because of Special K alone.
Fix up, vote Sharp was an interesting one - I suspect that a lot of people knew it but when you look at the votes and exclude his home college of Halifax, I think that he actually lost to George.
"More than usual, but there's still no international student - a fairly large part of the student populace."
Indeed, George, and there are no graduate or mature students either. That said, the GSA and ISA do sterling jobs and both have their own Presidents - hopefully they can be more visible and integrate further with YUSU. One representative from both committees should sit on Union Council and make sure that these people are heard.
Aristidis surely your devaluation of the democratic process informs your reluctance to accept someone you didn't support being elected YUSU president?
Also, it's incredibly naive of you to think that in a STUDENT election, there aren't members of the York populace who wouldn't be drawn in by a gimmick or slogan. You only have to look at last year's elected president to realise that. Tim, however, campaigned incredibly hard for votes - backed up by a strong set of policies and a real understanding of student life. His apparent "popular" election isn't the reason students are disillusioned with YUSU, it's because they have become so insular they've almost divorced themselves from the student body. I believe Tim has the qualities to dispel the apathy towards YUSU, and even Tom's supporters have to give him his chance to do that - galling as it might be.
"Aristidis surely your devaluation of the democratic process informs your reluctance to accept someone you didn't support being elected YUSU president?"
What does that mean? It does not make sense to say that a fact "informs" one's reluctance.
Of course I expect students to be drawn in by a slogan, which is why I devalue democracy. If students at a top university are not mature enough to be responsible voters, how can democracy work? I would perfectly accept the point that student politics do not matter, hence people just vote for fun, if people did not complain about YUSU. You either think it's unimportant and make fun of it, or think it matters and complain about it. Not both, they are contradictory.
Now, people, please stop telling me "Tim worked hard" or "Rhianna has good policies". I KNOW. It is not them I am criticising.
A.
if it is not the winners then what? the process itself, I imagine? and although i agree, i think we all know that that's how student politics is and i doubt that it can change.
Aristidis I respect your point of view about democracy, and i'll even go so far as to agree it wouldn't make bit of difference if there were no student elections and the positions were selected by interview or by judging CVs.
But you cannot compare any other type of election with a student one. The SU has a very limited budget, is hugely constrained by uni admin, has 1-year terms making it impossible to act upon any pledges, and is mandated by UGMs, which as we have recently seen, are open to any motion under the sun from giving a building a silly name, to saving the world from war, climate change, fascism, injustice and Israel. Officers are somewhat limited therefore on what they can actually do to improve or change the status quo. The bar has been the only real huge promise achieved in recent history.
It's a real incomparable system of 'democracy' to the form of democracy which most of us value sincerely. Democracy does work at national , european, even local governmental level. But at uni level i concede it's nothing to worry about too much.
"has 1-year terms making it impossible to act upon any pledges"
I disagree. Plenty can be accomplished in one year - look at what Leyland has managed to do to the library opening hours. Pledges simply have to be realistic.
Their success within the context of UGMs will always be defined differently from person to person but I think that generally people can see how much effort you put into the role and respect that, even if they disagree with what you did/how you did it.
I think this is exactly the point - this change is going to be phased in over a number of years and although Charlie did a lot of the work now, we have to make sure the University actually keep up with their pledge, something they're not amazing with.
Did Jason Rose seriously get over 1/4 RON's?!?!?!?!
Mate, you really have to sort yourself out...
With Student Activities, I have to say that I didn't think any of the candidates were that strong, but I voted for Rhianna as the best of the 3. Rory has, by all accounts, only done a mediocre job this year, and so there is no real need or wish for him to stay another year. I didn't want to precident to be set of sabbatical officers regularly staying on for 2 years. I feel it puts them out of touch with students, and since YUSU is entirely there to represent students, that's something that really worries me.
Although I have met Ella, and she is a lovely person, I had severe issues with her being SA officer. In my opinion, she isn't strong enough and doesn't have wide ranging enough experience to do the role successfully. Furthermore, and I'm sure I'll get criticised for this, but I worry that her own personal politics and views are too strong to enable her to remain impartial - something that is essential to do the job successfully.
So that only left Rhianna - while I wasn't massively enamoured with her Special K campaign, I did feel at least that it was a bit different, and that she had the confidence and drive to really go for it with her campaign - something I feel Ella lacked. So yes, maybe her gimmick did sway me a little, but it was only on the face of the fact that I didn't want either of the others.
I know it's a problem if people rely on gimmicky campaigns soley, but as long as they have strong, feasible policies to go along with them - which all 6 successful sabb candidates do - I don't think this is a problem. Well done to all 6 new sabbs - I'm sure next year will work out fine! If we can spend a year with a pirate president and not collapse, I'm sure we'll be OK!!
Re: #76. Yes we did, but you have to remember that there are a number of factors. David Levene got a reasonable amount of RONs as well so the fact that I'm a socialist and Chris is a conservative may well have isolated certain people (one of my friends refused to vote for us because Chris was a tory, for instance!); the fact that we were uncontested boosts the RON count and don't forget that whilst we spent our time campaigning in Wentworth because we knew that there would still be a healthy margin, a small group of people were deliberately going out of their way to try and get us RONed. Despite not visibly campaigning and being in a difficult set of circumstances, we got more than double RON's vote. It was a comfortable margin.
Granted that it's not great but, well, it shows us that we need to impress and I for one definitely intend to. If our popularity doesn't increase then we're not campaigning properly!
comment deleted by a moderator
comment deleted by a moderator You must log in to submit a comment.
Report