Thanks to East Berwickshire Churches Together, we enjoyed a fascinating and feisty final hustings with all eight of us candidates in Eyemouth this evening.
It was the first and last time all eight of us were in the same debating space together and made for some interesting listening. Local electors certainly had a broad range of political options to assess, from far-right Reform to genuine socialist Green.
To be brutally honest, the Reform lady spoke the most codswallop of all of us, and rattled off various bits of dis and misinformation that were only relevant to Reform’s English-based fascists (it beggars belief any Scottish person could back a political party that is full of English fascist thugs who hate the Scots with a passion more than they hate “Europe” or “migrants”). Anyway, better out than in, so it was good that she came to hear some of our reactions.
Meanwhile, I was nearly late to the hustings because I was so busy talking my way round the constituency as ever, in Auchencrow, Allanton, Swinton, Leitholm and particularly Coldstream, dropping into random businesses, pubs and farms en route for some deeply interesting and valuable conversations. To be brutally honest, not a single person was going to vote Conservative, three had already done postal ballots for the SNP, but I am hopeful that the people that said they had no intention of voting at all and were fed up of party politics, found me reasonable enough they might vote for me on Thursday, instead of abstaining from the whole process.
After the Eyemouth hustings, picking up a cheeky lamb shish at the Kurdish lads’ place (soon to move next door to a bigger restaurant!), I got to finish my day having some local bants by the cashpoint and bumping into an amazing cab driver saying he was telling everyone he carried to vote for me. That is really quite something.
Below are versions of my opening and closing Eyemouth Hustings speeches. Being the final speaker at the end, I managed to add my thanks to my fellow candidates for our lively debates and campaigning, and encouraged electors in the room to realise how lucky they were to have such a board, democratic choice to choose from.
So everyone, no excuses, get out and vote on Thursday, and particularly vote for me, Ellie Merton, your one and truly independent candidate and local Eyemouth resident!
Opening Speech
Hello!
Thank you so much to Reverend Ruairidh for getting us all together for our last hustings before Thursday’s big polling day, and it is wonderful to see you all here.
I’m Ellie Merton, your very local independent candidate.
A copy of my manifesto flier is on your seat and will have come through your letter box already (possibly unlike your postal ballot pack, but that’s another story!).
My manifesto is a simple set of proposals for tackling the region’s intransigent problems in a different way.
At heart, my manifesto is all about this village and its surroundings, and what I can do as your MP to make life for all of us better, working the Westminster systems on your behalves.
Being free from party stricture and someone who knows how Westminster and Whitehall function, I work cross-party, involving actors from all over the political spectrum, however complex and contentious the issue, drawing on their different strengths and styles, to get what I want done on behalf of constituents.
For Eyemouth, our main focus must be the relationship between our much-needed fishing fleet, the quality of water in the Eye and local burns and rivers, local marine conservation efforts, the wind farms on and offshore, and how they all tie into local education, health, housing and affordable livelihoods.
I will help these competing elements work together to find that forward-thinking balance, improve our lives for generations to come, working in Westminster and Whitehall to make our collective local endeavours the envy of the rest of the British Isles.
Vote for me, Ellie Merton, and I look forward to learning more about what your concerns are that your next MP needs to tackle on your behalf.
Thank you!
Closing Speech
On Thursday, you are in the business of electing a Backbench MP.
None of us candidates here would be on a front bench. I suggest I am your strongest, most relevant to you, option for a backbench MP.
My standing for Westminster is my way to give back to you. Some of you may remember my mum, a little old retired English woman, so in love with this area, its people and its often-comical farm produce and wildlife.
Since my twenties, when I first lived at mum’s, I too have been in love with the area and been supported by organisations and individuals in and around Eyemouth, Coldingham, Reston and Duns, and now as a permanent resident, these groups (along with the amazing carpet bowling group in Leitholm!) are helping me rehabilitate from yet more bouts of Covid and depression.
You might think I would want to be a local councillor but that’s seriously hard work, and my flakiness of health is much better suited to rampaging up and down to London in the train, contriving my next jovial ambush of government departments, debating in the Commons, and leading a team of redoubtable caseworkers, based here in Eyemouth, to help solve thorny issues for you liaising with Council departments, Scottish government agencies, local organisations and Ministers of the Crown.
My strengths are in campaigning at the local, national and international level, making an impact here in our communities, in UK and beyond our shores.
I really mean it when I say I want to make Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk the best place in the UK to live, work, learn, thrive and visit. I have the gumption, initiative and strength to deliver on my promises.
So, please vote for me, Ellie Merton, your strong, can-do, local woman as your independent MP.
Thank you, and remember to take your photographic ID with you to the polling station on Thursday!
Left to right (seriously, completely inadvertent): SNP, Green, LibDem, Independent, Labour, Family Party, Reform, Conservative.
