Can we win up North?

DAVID Cameron has decided to turn his charm on the people of the North of England, rightly realising that without them he cannot possibly win the next General Election and recently launched his "Campaign North" group, to try to revive the party's "flatlining" Northern fortunes.

Mr Cameron said: "We can never aspire to office unless we represent communities in every part of Britain.

"In 1970 we won 62 seats in the North. Today, we hold 19. We cannot turn this situation around overnight. We cannot do so from London. Instead, we must do so on the ground, in communities across the North."

Cllr Andy Morgan said: "I agree that certainly the Conservative vote has declined in the North and the number of seats obviously that we hold, and from my point of view it is vitally important that we Northern candidates in our Northern seats such as Bolton South East."

Andy said: "One of the big issues - although I'm not sure if it is any different anywhere else - is crime. And for certain Northern towns immigration is also an issue of sorts, which is why you see the unfortunate proliferation of the BNP.

One of the important things for Bolton South East is the feeling that we have lost a sense of community, particularly with things like the closing of the Post Offices, which people feel very strongly about. Candidates need to really know their area."

However, Cllr Morgan disagrees with the idea that the ghost of Thatcherism still prevents people taking Cameron's Conservatives to their hearts.

He said: "The miners' strike was 22 years ago - the sort of people Cameron is trying to engage with are the younger people who have never been involved in the democratic process, and women, many of whom have been turned off politics.

"People are looking for an alternative. Even if you look at the traditional Labour voters, I've only met one traditional Labour supporter who thinks that Tony Blair is the answer to their problems.

"What we need to do is show the alternative is a Conservative party for the 21st century."