Simon Jupp says on facebook that he has been “knocking on doors” in Newton Poppleford ahead of the District Council by-election to fill the vacancy caused by the sad death of Val Ranger.
This prompted the following comment: “Could you please start responding to your emails, rather than galavanting round East Devon! People are still in crisis and are still needing help, even though your party is in pieces at the moment, your job still stands!”
In the 2019 election the Conservative candidate got only 114 votes, and Val romped home.
The best memorial for Val is for the people of Newton Pop to discard any apathy, overcome inertia and to get out there and vote for who will best represent the interests of their community. The candidate list can be found here
This government doesn’t seem keen on giving people a vote these days so this might also be an opportunity to send them a message from Newton Poppleford as strong as the message sent from Tiverton and Honiton. A few letters to the press wouldn’t go amiss either.
The local Tories must be very worried if they have to send out their MP to canvass in a local election. Maybe he is the only activist left.
Jupp’s photo op follows his pet theme of supporting the hospitality sector. In this he is pretty much a lone wolf in the party as Jeremy Hunt ignored any lobbying and reimposed the increases in alcohol duty as part of Austerity 2.0 and the sector is really struggling. It faces a deadly combination of rising prices, rocketing food and energy costs and the prospect of recession, as the vital Christmas trading period looms.
BUT SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE.
See: UK hospitality warns of ‘tidal wave’ of closures as crises loom.
Voting Tory isn’t going to help the hospitality sector.
PS Anyone answered a knock on the door to find themselves facing SJ in person or does he only visit the faithful few?
East Devon Watch 
To be fair Simon Jupp did knock on my door and I’m an ardent and vocal Independent supporter. But of course he didn’t have the local knowledge to know my garden is always festooned with Independent banners come election day. Local knowledge seemed conspicuously absent in the Tory campaign team I spoke to, the party faithful flooded in from Sidmouth, Exeter, Woodbury, even Bampton (and London, Simon?) but I couldn’t find any that came from our Parish? Even their Candidate wasn’t from our parish, and I’m sorry Paul but even getting photographed with a cute donkey was never going to convince us to vote for a candidate cast out by his own parish in 2019. The volume of Tory leaflets, canvassing and Tellers seemed a desperate attempt to take control of our parish and I’m glad their time was wasted.
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