08:25 Thursday 21st April 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
Edited 20:05 hrs.
PAUL STAINTON: Earlier in the show we heard how the Labour Party in Huntingdon was expecting a big increase in the amount of votes in the upcoming elections. They say it’s down to public backlash against the Coalition Government… Let’s speak to Ed Murphy. He was the Labour Party Parliamentary Party candidate at the last election in the city of Peterborough. Morning Ed.
ED MURPHY: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: So are we going to get red?
ED MURPHY: We’re looking to win a few seats in Peterborough, yes.
PAUL STAINTON: Because at the moment it’s a bit of a ( uh-uhhh )
ED MURPHY: Oh it’s terrible. We haven’t hardly .. we’ve only got three Labour councillors on the City Council. Hopefully after May 5th there’ll be a few more people from Peterborough representing the Labour Party on the Council.
PAUL STAINTON: Do you agree with what Mike Sneath was saying, from Huntingdonshire, that there’ll be some sort of backlash here against the Coalition?
ED MURPHY: They seem really positive there. I went to the Peterborough Pensioners’ Association meeting two days ago, the hustings. The Tory didn’t turn up, but Nick Sandford from the Liberal Democrats did. What I didn’t realise was there are a lot of older people who voted Liberal then, as well as the younger people, at the General Election, and they are actually pretty angry. We know the students have lost out and had their broken promises. But I didn’t quite realise how angry the pensioners were. Pension credit has been cut, the winter fuel allowance has been cut for pensioners. And pensioners are people that tend to vote, and hopefully they will be coming out. They won’t be voting Liberal Democrat. They won’t be voting for the fringe parties. They’ll be switching to Labour on May 5th.
PAUL STAINTON: Do you think your sins have been forgiven? ..
ED MURPHY: We looked at our returns last week, and last week, Labour in Peterborough went out and spoke to 1140 people. 712 of them promised they’ll be voting Labour on May 5th. I think the Tories are really in for a killing in Peterborough. Yes we can talk about the national issues, and I for one, personally, feel really sorry that people didn’t vote Labour. Many voted Liberal, and that got them a Tory Government, and that’s a disgrace. But let’s think about the local issues in Peterborough as well. And to be frank, the people running this Council have run it really really badly. We’ve even had the disgrace they’re spending tens of thousands of pounds on the count alone. We need ordinary people representing the people and the neighbours of people back on this council.
PAUL STAINTON: How many Labour councillors will we have, do you think, after the Council elections in May?
ED MURPHY: I think we’ll double our representation. We’ll be the biggest party in opposition. It’s only Labour that are going to win seats. I don’t want to talk too much about it, because I don’t want to frighten Tories. But they’re not really working, the Tories. I haven’t seen them anywhere. There’s posters for Labour all over the city centre. In Ravensthorpe we’ve had a swing, in Park we’ve had a swing. We hope to do well in Bretton, Paston, Orton, Stanground, Fletton and East ward.
PAUL STAINTON: Well, we shall see, Mt Murphy. We shall see.
ED MURPHY: Hopefully Paul. Hopefully we will. And maybe yourself might be voting Labour for a change, eh?
PAUL STAINTON: I couldn’t possibly reveal which way I’ve ever voted, ever.
ED MURPHY: (LAUGHS)
PAUL STAINTON: But I can tell you now, it’s never for the same party. Thank you, Mr Ed Murphy, who is standing as a local councillor for Labour.
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