On The Campaigns: Does Anne Milton’s Warm Reception Mean The Polls Are Wrong?

Published on: 2 Dec, 2019
Updated on: 2 Dec, 2019

In the third of The Dragon NEWS series following the candidates out campaigning, Hugh Coakley joined Independent Anne Milton in Guildford High Street as she chatted with people and gave out her stickers.

Walking the High Street with the magnetic Ms Milton makes one wonder whether the polls, including ours, which put her a distant fourth, are completely skewed.

Anne Milton, the Independent candidate, had a warm welcome in the High Street with people crossing the road to offer her encouragement and support. Are the polls wrong again?

While I was with her, only two or three people did not accept her campaign stickers and, remarkably, no negative comments were directed at her. She was mildly challenged on Brexit, asked advice on an immigration issue but, most told her she was right to stand for election again.

“I haven’t set this up,” she said, smiling happily at the warmth of her reception. People seemed very happy to have her bright pink sticker stuck on their jacket by the amiable Ms Milton. If this level of support is to be translated into votes, the forecast result would change.

People were very happy to wear Anne Milton campaign stickers.

“My battle is to make people believe I can win,” she said. “I wouldn’t have stood without the 400 to 500 emails asking me to do it.

“I am so relaxed. I love campaigning and I adore talking to people and now, I’m not having to take any party lines.”

“I love campaigning and I adore talking to people,” said Anne Milton in Guildford High Street.

One after the other, people crossed the road to offer support, wish her good luck or to chat with her about issues local and national. Being the local MP for the past 14 years has made a deep and abiding mark with her constituents.

Anne Milton, well known as Guildford’s MP for the last 14 years, was asked about constituency issues by some.

“Thank you so much for standing,” said one supporter. “You stood by your convictions.”

Another said with warm sincerity: “You helped my friend with his disability appeal. He won it. Thank you.”

For Ms Milton, raising campaign funds has not been a problem, she said, even without a party machine to back her. In fact that particular “lack”, she said gives her the freedom to run her own campaign. “Maybe I will hold some public meetings,” she said thoughtfully.

Anne Milton arriving in Guildford High Street on her bike.

Will there be a surprise result here? “There is a lot of vote churn in Guildford,” she said. “But it is a big ask for an Independent to win. Guildford voted in 15 Independents at the local elections in May this year. Maybe Guildford has had enough of political infighting.”

And Ms Milton was philosophical about election day, December 12. “If I win, I will cheer but if I lose, it will be with my integrity intact and that is important to me.”

Responses to On The Campaigns: Does Anne Milton’s Warm Reception Mean The Polls Are Wrong?

J Kocher Reply

December 5, 2019 at 9:01 am

I am definitely voting for Mrs Milton. She can move mountains for you if you have been wrongly treated. She has helped my family and myself whenever we have needed support.

Guildford needs her and definitely a new PM (whoever wins).
E Tudor Reply

December 5, 2019 at 10:19 am

Why would anyone vote for her again after she broke her manifesto pledge to honour the referendum result?
- John Hadwin Reply
  
  December 9, 2019 at 9:50 am
  
  She broke no promises. What she did was to object to the terms on which we were preparing to leave.
Jonty Martin Reply

December 5, 2019 at 12:49 pm

“She has helped my family and myself whenever we have needed support.”

If we had a centrist social democratic government led by Corbyn then you wouldn’t need to go begging for support and rely on someone’s goodwill and you’d have much better state provision to protect you when you are in need.
J M Dawkins Reply

December 6, 2019 at 8:16 am

Anne Milton is the outstanding candidate. She has helped hundreds of people in the constituency and stands head and shoulders above the others. I hope that people who voted for Independent candidates in the council elections will do so again and return Anne to Westminster, where she has always considered her constituents when voting.

J M Dawkins is the former chairman of the Shalford Conservative Branch
Trevor Jones Reply

December 6, 2019 at 4:55 pm

I like the idea of having an MP independent of political parties, especially one as intelligent and thoughtful as Anne Milton. Even when she followed the Conservative party line she always gave a thoughtful reply to emails on political issues, to explain why she agreed with the government policy, rather than simply quoting the official line. Latterly she explained why she was voting or against the official line or abstaining.

Ms Milton has also always been good at listening to everyone’s point of view before deciding, even where she couldn’t agree with everyone. Within my particular interest, she has been very good on rail passenger issues, both listening and then arguing the case in Parliament or with rail operators on behalf of Guildford rail users.