AND NOW FOR SOME EASY READING

I have often had comments made to me on the content of my leaflets! mostly good, some bad.

One continuous dividing opinion that arises is that some say that they are either far too long or far too short, have too many words, or do not enough words?

It is of course horses for courses, some voters like to be well informed, others just prefer a snapshot.
Some read the Mirror others prefer a broadsheet.

So what is the perfect compromise for a political leaflet? And how can we be certain that anyone reads them anyway, long or short, wordy or graphic?

Well if I was tell the other party's that 25% of the electorate couldn't read any of their leaflets  irrespective of the design or length then I wonder if they would start to sit up and take notice?

Some of you will know that before I entered into politics I worked closely with the learning disability community in Northampton and I worked hard at trying to make information clear and easy to understand.

That 25% figure mentioned above is made up of those with learning disabilities or educational difficulties or those who simply never had the benefit of a standard education.

So how do we engage them in the political process? How do we ensure that their vote is not taken for granted but earned and worked for? who will give them a voice if no one informs them of their choices.

It was with the above in mind that I decided to write an "Easy Read" leaflet for the forthcoming Local Elections, the topics included are broader than the County Council, but then again people rarely vote on single Council issues but vote instead on how a candidate or party thinks and acts in a broader sense.

Easy Read is a national standard, used by many organisations to ensure important information is accessible for all. 

It is by no means perfect, it never can be, what do words like candidate and election really mean to those who do not use such words every day? And if you explain each and every word than when does the information given stop being interesting and start sounding like Peter and Jane? So readers may need some help, may need to be understanding of those whose reading difficulty is greater than theirs? but isn't something always better than nothing? Isn't the longest journey always started with the shortest of steps?

So if you have a relative with an educational or learning difficulty living in Castle Ward, or if you work in a community home in the area whose residents would benefit from some plain english speaking material which enabled them to better engage in the political process then I would hope you will print out and share my leaflet for them.

Of course I am just one candidate from one party, and people should be given a choice, and perhaps my attempt at full engagement with the electorate might make the rest sit up and take notice and hopefully follow suit.

After all do they really want to continue to ignore 25% of their electorate?

I hope you enjoy reading it and that you do pass it on!