h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here is the butcher's bill as to what election campaign gubbins has been either stuck through my letter box or passed onto me over the phone.

Labour - 2 modest sized identical leaflets and one phone call. The caller of which seemed quite offended when I told him to f*ck off as I'm registered with the TPS.

Conservative - 2 small identical glossy leaflets; one A3 poster, as if! A phone call from someone who at least had the good grace to go, "Ah" when I mentioned the TPS.

Green Party - 2 small different leaflets; a canvasser (); an eight page copy of the local Green Party's newspaper. It's a bi-monthly thing that we're used to receiving. This time though it is double the usual length and in full colour.

UKIP - one A4 leaflet banging on about the pound.

Socialist Labour Party - one small photocopied leaflet, smudged.

Alliance For Green Socialism - one small photocopied leaflet, on green paper.

There are three other candidates standing in the Brighton Pavillion constituency - two Independents, and a Liberal Democrat - who I have yet to hear anything from.

We have a small forests worth arrive each day, and it all goes straight into the dusty-bin Maybe we get so much cause we live opposite the New labour HQ place in Cambridge I've not had a single foot canvaser, which is a pity as I want to have some fun

I have aching legs from delivering Liberal Democrat literature in Leeds North West. I've personally delivered two editions of a four-page tabloid paper, two different leaflets and some personalised letters from our candidate. I've also folded and stuffed in envelopes some more different letters and leaflets, one of which came in different editions to be given to people according to what, if anything, they'd told our canvassers about their voting intentions.

So I'm sorry you've been overlooked, GD, but considering how intense our campaign in Leeds has been, I can only put it down to purposeful focusing on marginal seats where we fancy our chances of winning.

Meanwhile, as a 'consumer', I've thus far had one leaflet each from Labour, the Tories and Respect. The Respect one was particularly interesting, as it urged me to vote for them in Bradford North, and I live in the Labour/Tory marginal seat of Bradford West, where Respect aren't putting up a candidate. I guess they don't respect constituency boundaries.

I live in a Lib Dem target seat, so as a result have had a ton of stuff from them - including a letter on homely stationery, printed in a font designed to look like it was handwritten. I would have been fairly convincing if my fiance hadn't also been sent the same letter to the same address on the same day. we also got a letter from Claire Raynor today, urging us to vote lib dem

Theresa May has also been sending us tons of bumpf, including the glossy poster - irritating because I don't think we are suppose to recycle glossy paper

Have had nothing from anyone else though - we have UKIP, BNP, and Labour candidates standing but it seems to be a straight fight between Con and Lib-Dem s nobody else can really be bothered.

If we weren't expecting rsvps for the wedding I'd just stick the recylcing box behind the door on my way out...

'I live in a Lib Dem target seat...'

Kelli, as you probably know, campaigning and canvassing on h2g2 is forbidden. But I'd just like to say how much I've always admired the great wisdom, sound judgement and erudition you've shown in your postings here on h2g2.

- you're too late, I sent my postal ballot last week. If you were really keen you could probably find it, steam it open and take a look...

'Find it, steam it open and take a look'? No, Kelli - I'm with the Leeds Liberal Democrats, not the Birmingham Labour Party!

(Dear Moderators, my justification for that bit of bitching is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4406575.stm )

Anyway, well done for making the effort to vote. That's more than a lot of people will do, from all that I'm reading.

I live in a Labour Ward - which has been Labour since 1946 (I think) A high profile member of the Labour Party is my MP, and president of my football club.

I have received 1 Labour pamphlet, 1 Socialist Reform, 4 (four) different Conservative leaflets, 1 Lib Dem leaflet, and 1 Green leaflet. I also have a BNP candidate (in Coventry ) who has driven past in a loudspeaker car.

We're blessed in not having the BNP around here. At the last set of council elections they put up one candidate in one ward (the rather fabulously named, Renzo Lorenzo Ferrari) where they managed to come 13th out of the thirteen candidates. Not a good showing then

I've been amazed, and oddly disappointed, how little bumph I've received. I had a (badly crumpled) leaflet from Labour at the very beginning of the campaign, and yesterday a glossy A4 sheet from UKIP and a photocopied sheet from an independent candidate turned up. It seems that neither the Tories nor the Lib Dems wish to seek my vote - odd, as it's a Con seat which is apparently a Lib Dem target.

I don't know if it's a local thing, but the traditional posters and signs outside people's houses seem to be lacking this time. In fact, if it weren't for a handful of the hideous fluorescent orange diamond-shaped boards issued by a certain party proud of its environmental credentials, I'd barely know that there was an election pending.

Incidentally, this note on the BBC News site amused me: "Sidmouth was once famed for being the only town in the country regularly to return a Loony Party candidate to its council. But then he defected to the Conservatives...". Make up your own jokes!

We have beem swamped by leaflets and letters of the blue variety. Last night I got another one in a hand-written envelope - had me worried until I opened it! Today another posted one from Mr Blue, addressed personally. They even know my middle initial!

Also had two or three red ones, one yellow one and a UKIP one about the local gov elections.

The blues would win by a mile in my street if it were down to paperwork! (It aint)

We seem to have had a fairly balanced quantity of paper from each of the three main parites, which is weird, as I'd have through we would have had more of the red variety, seeing as how thy've got their HQ on this road pretty much opposite my house So I imainge I can expect pletny of noise in the road tomorrow trying to get people out to vote; as I've discovered this evening by using the web, my poling station is on teh road that follows directly on from this one, probably a minute or two walk from my fonrt door.... and the best bit... I'll have to pop into the bakery on the way home for

I still haven't heard from the local Liberals

And 2legs, have you sorted out whether you're on the electoral role or not?

I thought this was benig locked at 10....

No, only the page that the Eds set up specifically for discussions pertaining to the election has been locked. (I know, I've tried posting to it without success.)

This thread is my journal and it is about direct marketing practices, and has nothing what-so-ever to do with the election

Do the main political parties use agencies for leaflet drops? From my own experience I shouldn't be surprised. I had to deal with such a company that delivered local marketing material for my employers a few years ago. Whole areas of the district that they were supposed to cover never received a leaflet and on occasion they were delivered over a fortnight late, after the relevent promotions had ended. We later switched to distributing the material via the local free rag, which regularly broke embargoes and delivered them a week early, and also folded them inside a competitor's leaflets!

Of course, I don't really approve of junk mail, though you'd be surprised how many people complain if they don't receive details of the latest offers through their letter boxes.

Well, I spent four hours today trudging round Leeds NW delivering last-minute campaign leaflets, and I sure as don't work for an agency! I don't think any of the other leafletters I met did either - we were all just willing volunteers.

Ah well, I've cast my X now, and I have to go and be a student this evening, so for me the election is all over bar the late-night cheering/booing at the TV. Here's hoping...

I've still not seen any Liberals in Brighton. Oh well, too late now I guess

I did see Labour and Green Party tally-men outside the polling station taking numbers. The former looked quite concerned, and the latter looked rather cheerful. Omens for tonight perhaps?

Oh, another leaflet has arrived...


* pulls document from the letterbox *


And on the menu tonight could be:

Set Dinner C for £14.50
- Sesame Prawn Toast
- Capital Spare Ribs
- Beef with Black Bean Sauce
- Chicken with Cashew Nuts
- Special Fried Rice (large)

All courtesy of The Brighton Wok, 34 New England Road, Brighton

Is anyone hungry?

I've had e-mails from Michael Howard and Tony Blair - that'll teach me to send them questions.