Recently, I was invited to a fundraising event at St Helens’ church, Witton in Northwich, to support Christian Aid. That evening, I was fortunate enough to meet almost all the other candidates for the newly created Mid Cheshire parliamentary seat, all of us looking to gain that seat in Parliament to represent you.
It was a wonderful event. We sat and chatted amicably, shared ideas, and had a great time whilst also raising money for Christian aid.
I was fortunate enough to meet the conservative candidate, Charles Fifield, Green Party candidate, Mark Green, and Independent candidate Helen Clawson. We all stood around and chatted for twenty minutes whilst others ate their curry, and truth be told, we found lots of common ground.
What struck me was that there was more that united us than divided us. Every one of us desperately wanted to make a difference in the local community and to effect real change that would help people. What also struck me was that we were all human. Gathered as we were in St Helen’s church it seemed fitting that we had all attended with the single aim of helping people, not knowing that the other candidates would be there.
It was a great evening, and we all enjoyed not only the food but also each other’s company.
But now the starting pistol has been fired on a general election we need to retreat to party lines and appear to be partisan to our own cause, despite the fact that this masks the real people we all are.
So, as we enter this crazy six weeks of campaigning before the general election, I thought it worth saying, publicly, that all of us, irrespective of our party affiliations are human beings. We might disagree with each other on matters of policy but I know that whoever is elected as MP, we will represent everyone’s views, not just our own.
And whilst we are expected to debate with each other publicly on matters of policy and promises, none of us would wish the other ill. The parties and policies we stand for are our own, and none of us want to see each other being attacked, besmirched, or harangued on social media.
Whoever you support, whichever party you have an affiliation with, remember that candidates are human beings and are simply standing up for what they believe. So before you write or comment on any social media posts, remember to be kind online. We are all just human beings.