Nick Hillman for Cambridge

I spent a fantastic day campaigning in Cambridge today for the local elections. Good weather always seems to bring out the best in political campaigners and voters, and it was such a beautiful day – much hotter than during my holiday on the Costa del Sol last week!

I was campaigning for Tim Haire and Edward Turnham, the Conservative candidates in Cherry Hinton. They have been fighting an excellent campaign focussing on the issues people care about, such as public transport, council tax and bringing some balance back to the (Lib Dem-dominated) city council. And, specific to this ward, they have also been campaigning to have the beautiful but worn Cherry Hinton sign repainted. I have a particular fondness for this bit of Cambridge, not least because of the scale of support I got there in the general election last May, and it was lovely to meet so many people who had voted for me then and be able to thank them.

On the doorstep, many important national issues came up, particularly the size of the deficit, but what struck me most was how receptive the voters were to the idea that Cherry Hinton would benefit from more balanced representation rather than being represented only by Labour councillors. One sitting Labour councillor recently admitted Cambridge would benefit from Conservative representation and, if the voters I met today were typical, that could well be achieved on May 5th. I hope it will.

I also caught up with Andrew Bower, our candidate in Coleridge ward, who was also out campaigning. Andy is deeply committed to this bit of Cambridge, as anyone who has seen him in action at Area Committee meetings, grilling the sitting councillors, knows. He is the sort of candidate that deserves to win broad support, including from people who don’t normally vote Conservative, because he is so committed to securing a better deal for local residents and scrutinising what the council is up to. I’ll be back out next weekend trying to help ensure that this year is a winning one for him.

If you have a few hours to spare, do come and join the campaign. The Cambridge Conservatives’ website has contact details and further information on how to get involved, along with information on all the Conservative local election candidates in Cambridge.