Today, Monday 11 May, I spent the day in Ilford.  Claude Moraes, my MEP colleague, candidate number three on the list, Anne Fairweather, and former MEP Robert Evans were also on this particular campaign trail.

The local Labour Party met us in Ilford and we did a good bit of leafletting in Ilford High Street.  I would like to pay special tribute to the Labour Party in Ilford who saw to it that there was a good turnout of leafletters, no mean achievement on a Monday morning.  They did well and were appreciated by all the candidates.

The general response in the High Street was quite upbeat, considering that MPs’ expenses have dominated the news for some days now.  I didn’t feel any particular anti-Labour feeling, and most people were happy to take our leaflets.  I even managed to talk to a police constable, a community activist and Peter Terry, the Metropolitan Police Borough Commander.  Not bad, I thought, for my first week day of campaigning now that the European Parliament has risen for the elections.