Canvassing in Mill Hill - Concerns for the elderly Jewish residents

On Saturday I was on the Lib Dem stall in Mill Hill Broadway. One conversation has stuck in my memory. One guy came up and introduced himself as a reader of the Barnet Eye. Like many people who read the blog and enjoy it, he doesn't agree with my political outlook. I asked him "Will you be voting for me?". He replied "I've always voted Conservative. I will be voting for David Cameron, but locally I will be voting for you". I enquired why. He said "It is simple, you wrote a blog eleven months ago highlighting the risk that the warden cuts pose to the elderly Jewish residents of sheltered housing". In this blog I raised the issue that Barnet has the highest number of Jewish residents in sheltered housing of any London Borough. He fully agreed that the removal of wardens left the frail and elderly in a position of vulnerability. Many of these elderly tenants suffered at the hands of the Nazis. They lost family and friends. Sadly there are plenty of people who see them as "fair game". An on site warden can keep an eye out and will see if there are undesirables lurking.  They are on hand if a resident has a concern. The gentleman I spoke to said "I think all elderly residents deserve safety and security. As Jewish residents are particularly threatened, it makes the issue even more important". He went on to remind me that  people who defile gravestones clearly have no morals.

He told me that whatever reservations he had about the Lib Dems were insignificant when it came to protecting the old and frail members of his family. He also told me that he'd drawn the attention of his friends and family to the blog on many occasions.  I was intrigued. I checked my stats and sure enough, this particular page has had a massive number of hits.

If this issue concerns you, please read the blog I posted eleven months ago

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/06/time-for-barnets-jewish-community-to.html

Now let me just make one point about this blog. When this was posted, I wasn't a member of the Liberal Democrat party. I had no intention whatsoever of standing for council. I was just campaigning against the cuts. I joined the party and have stood, only because I was asked to, by people such as the guy I spoke to on Saturday. People who want a council that stands up for it's vulnerable.