The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 12

12 The Guardian Monday May 21 2001 Eiction2001 'Nobody had been hit, nothing had been thrown, nothing broken' Helen Brinton, page 15 Come on, then Vote for me if you think you're hard enough drews, by now rather unpleasant. The man looked as if nothing would please him more, but he forced out a before saying: "What abaht the rest of them, then? Coming in by train, under the train, on top of the train." "What," the candidate answered furiously, "do you expect me to do? Do you want me to lie on the track, wait for the train, and if I see an asylum seeker, pull him off? Eh?" The man changed the subject. "They took 5 off on housing, on mortgage relief, put it on the poll tax "The poll tax?" roared Mr much? It's not been lower for 20 years." The chap didn't recall. "But they've done bugger all for me. Nan, leave it out." Even though it was now clear that he was like Alf Gar-nett without the elfin charm, I wanted to shout out, "Sir! You're tangling with the wrong'man," but he was unstoppable.

"I am definitely not voting Labour. All these bloody asylum seekers coming in, taking all, taking all -all our bits and bobs." "You don't want to send 'em home to be tortured, do you?" asked Mr Marshall-An Marshall-Andrews, but as he gathered breath for the onslaught, the man asked: "Have you had a pension increase?" am. not. a pensioner," said the candidate, as if explaining to a lunatic that he wasn't Julia Roberts either. "Well, then," said the man triumphantly, "you don't know what you're talking about!" "I rebelled against my government so don't dare start talking to me!" Mr Marshall-Andrews bellowed.

At some point the door slammed, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the candidate who did the slamming. The voter, a male pensioner, didn't stand a chance. As always, Mr Marshall-Andrews starts gently, to catch them off balance. "Just came round to say hello," he began. "Things going all right here?" With any other politician this might seem like small talk.

With this one, it sounds as if it's going tp be a demand for protection money. "Not really," said the man. "Your lot ent done much for me. For a start they took away my mortgage relief." "But your mortgage is much lower now. How much is your mortgage? How "Of course," he said, as he stamped away, smiling the smile of one who has just enjoyed the fight he was looking for, "after Prescott you can't get inside anyone's house.

Knock on the door, and they shout 'I give The Labour canvassers talked with awe of their candidate's encounter with a send-them-home voter the previous day. "The difference between you and me," said Mr Marshall-Andrews, "is that you are a racist and I am not." "What they do for us in the war, then?" asked the man, name, address, phone number, political preference, star sign and favourite member of Hear'Say well, most of those we were visiting someone the computer called a "firm I asked Bob Marshall-Andrews why. "Because I like to," he replied grimly. And he does make a scary sight. With his gimlet eyes, prop forward's build and lawn-strimmer haircut, the Labour candidate for Med-way has been compared (by me, admittedly) to a cross between Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher.

and Mr Marshall-Andrews told him about the Indian and West Indian regiments. "While we're at it, what did you do?" "I'm too young." "Well, you don't look it. And under no circumstances are you allowed to vote for me. You will not vote for me!" "I'll vote for who I please," the man finished lamely, making him, presumably, a "don't Mr Marshall-Andrews's majority is 5,326. At the present rate of attrition he should have it down to zero a few days before polling.

Sketch Simon Hoggart Britain's most aggressive candidate stalked across the street in search of new voters to offend. According to the Voter ID sheet, the guide to every single elector provided by Millbank, listing OJlribS 3DD ODUfteiTDD' digged! pDe pM paedl Straw's plans are inadequate, opposition parties claim Michael White Political editor ticed via the internet, but only if an assault took place. A Conservative government would make enticement as offence in itself. Miss Widdecombe said: "If the evidence is there to show that a paedophile is attempting to lure a child in this way, he should face the penalty of the law immediately. No second chance.

"I charge Labour with dereliction of duty. They are obviously now in a panic, realising that we have proposals to tackle this scourge in our manifesto and they do not." The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, said his party agreed that the law must keep pace with technology. "The real problem at the moment is a shortage of police and people around the country to deal with implementing the law that we've got," he warned. decombe accused him of doing too little too late, while the Liberal Democrats warned that many police forces lacked the IT resources to deal with computer-based crime which may cross many jurisdictions. In trying to curb "grooming" Mr Straw also faced accusations of a u-turn since Lord Bassam, the junior Home Office minister, this month dismissed such tactics as an attempt to outlaw what could be merely a "thought crime" on the part of an adult chatting on the internet.

Mr Straw's well-trailed announcement, in a speech in Northampton, envisaged that child safety software will be pre-installed in new personal computers designed for the family market. But parents will be able to operate a rating system and choose how to use the proposed safety mechanisms which can sometimes be clumsy in closing access to websites. Mr Straw said that "working with industry, children's charities and with committed campaigners like Carol Vorder-man, we want to make Britain the safest country in the world for children to use the internet." "Family friendly" consumer kitemarks would be created for approved internet service providers. At the same time police would be empowered to apply for paedophile prevention orders if they suspected inappropriate approaches were being made to youngsters over the internet, with maximum jail sentences of up to five years. It would in theory apply to contacts worldwide.

But in a speech in Gravesham, Kent, Miss Widdecombe said that existing law allowed the police to act if youngsters were en Jack Straw yesterday committed Labour to fresh curbs on paedophile activity by introducing stringent new regulations which would allow parents to restrict their children's internet surfing habits and impose prevention orders on known offenders who "groom" youngsters for potential exploitation in online chat-rooms. But the home secretary's intervention on a hyper-sensitive topic during the election campaign drew criticism from both left and right. Ann Wid- As children increasingly use the internet, fears over paedophile activity grow Photograph: Mark CrosseAP Drivers toll-size airbag Twin full-size airbags Power steering Air-conditioning ABS braking" Air-conditioning Heat reflective windscreen Speed-sensitive power steering Remote control central deadlocking Twin full-size airbags Alloy wheels Flex? seating system: 5 seats to 7 seats to 2 seats Active front seat head restraints Active front seat head restraints Remote control central deadlocking Immobiliser Power-assisted steering Immobihser Body colour bumpers Immobiliser 6 speaker radiocassette Electric front windows and door minors Remote control central locking this celebrated foursome looks set to attract even more fans. For further details of Vauxhall models, ring 0845 600 1500 quoting code: EMR or visit www.vauxhall.co.uk VAUXHALL Raising the Standard Each "Wrt road price include, a CuHomer Savins, number Vehicle Kxci.c Dury and a fin. regmration fee.

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