An emotional and a surprising evening in Burwell

I was in Burwell all evening, visiting individual people at individual homes, 'doing' streets and delivering last-minute leaflets as well.

It was an emotional evening for me for I met the mother of a young Burwell soldier who need not be named here but who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this year. The mother seemed to be bearing her loss with admirable fortitude but she must still be distraught. I said a few brief words of sympathy - only repeating the few that I had said before - and remarked that, whilst it's too late for her 'boy,' I hoped that all of 'our boys' now out there may be brought home safely and soon. She agreed.

It was a surprising evening, too, for I realised from what I saw in Burwell that UKIP (The United Kingdom Independence Party) is making a better show than I thought likely earlier.

Here is part of the better show, an enormous poster/hoarding in a garden on Ness Road, Burwell.

I guess that my publishing my picture of this enormous poster/hoarding in a garden at Burwell will encurridge the UKIP leadership, Mr Nigel 'pass me a fag and give me another G&T' Farridge and Lord 'fox hunter' Pearson of Rannoch.

The more serious aspect and political importance of the enormous UKIP poster/hoarding in a garden in Burwell is that UKIP didn't put up a candidate at the last General Election in 2005. There were then just 'the big three.' (BTW, I do understand the principal policy plank of UKIP. It's just when they start pontificating on local issues with no meaningful European 'slant' that they and their people sound irrelevant and, dare I say it, slightly potty).

Many of the local Conservatives whom I know are pro-Europe, but some aren't. My guess is that UKIP's intervention and better show will cause a further split in the Conservative vote. It appears to me that the Conservative vote will be split several ways. Part will hive off to UKIP. Part will hive off to the Christian Peoples Alliance. Part will hive off to the Green Party on account of it also standing this time with an outstanding local candidate. And part, of course, will hive off to my independent line, which appeals to many Conservatives who consistently supported independent candidates at Council elections.

Interestingly, UKIP's intervention and better show will almost certainly be big trouble for the Liberal Democrats, too, for not all of the local ones whom I know follow so slavishly the national pro-Europe Liberal Democrat party line nor do they approve of British involvement with the Euro currency to the same degree as pretty boy Cleggy.

Cleggy may be a pretty boy but he is on to several losers this time round: Europe, the Euro currency, his immigration 'amnesty' for illegals, and, of course, his wobbly policy on Trident.

As an old buddy of mine says, 'The thick plottens!'