I was supporting Julian Sturdy as a friend today, knowing his sincerity in genuinely wanting to help chronic back pain sufferers who have been denied routine funding of NHS spinal injections which make a huge difference to the quality of their daily lives, but are no longer readily accessible from their health authority.

Both Julian, our Conservative parliamentary candidate in York Outer, and Nigel Adams, our candidate in neighbouring Selby & Ainsty, have campaigned vigorously on behalf of the the York & District Pain Management Support Group, and were delighted today to have the support of Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.

He listened hard to their personal stories of enduring pain, he listened hard and sympathised, explaining that this simply would not be allowed to happen with a Conservative government because they would give power to GPs to decide how patients should be treated, not PCTs.

He answered questions from the audience about care for the elderly under a Tory government which would help support families facing this terrible and costly dilemma which Labour has failed to grasp, and the access they would give for vital cancer treating drugs so cruelly denied to many right now.

Andrew arrived at the church hall in Haxby in his eye catching election campaign battle bus with the cleverly worded “NH Yes” logo on the side. He left behind a clear message to Yorkshire voters that Julian and Nigel would  back the NHS, an NHS that listens to patients and gives more responsibility to the frontline professionals, and an NHS not dominated by bureaucracy and meaningless targets.

Julian then did what he does best – he went walkabout knocking on doors in the constituency talking to residents about their concerns. The NHS came up high on the agenda, as well as immigration, Afghanistan, a tenant’s right to buy her home from a housing association – and those MPs expenses!

I’m always struck by what long memories people have during election time, or the issues that bug them most. An elderly lady on a bicycle willingly rode up to Julian and pledged her support stating: “I remember Gordon Brown and how he didn’t show respect at the Cenotaph. My husband fought in the war and I lost a brother in it.”

She was referring to last November when Brown was criticised for not bowing at the Cenotaph.

One man Julian spoke to had a UKIP leaflet folded neatly in his pocket. Is this, I wonder, the party which is a threat to Conservatives because of their policy on immigration.  If they take our vote in marginal seats, it could make a huge difference to the election outcome. Julian was fortunate in this instance to secure his support, and the man clearly had no desire to experience another five years of  Labour.

Yes, there were still some who were undecided, but at least they had met Julian, and they all appreciated that.  I still reckon we had a good 70% support from the people we spoke to, which is certainly a most encouraging sign. One 18-year-old boy was researching all the election manifestos on the internet when we called round. How impressive is that!

However,  I would loved to have known how the centenarian planned to vote who we called upon in the neighbourhood this afternoon. Unfortunately, she was out socialising, and the front of her house was still strewn with balloons and a banner to mark her 100th birthday yesterday.

*An important part of any election campaign is to have a strong visual presence with posters in gardens and on billboards.  You might expect a handful to go missing during a campaign, but around 50-60 have mysteriously vanished in York Outer; in fact, some have vanished twice from the same place. This can only mean that we are have got under somebody’s skin and are regarded as a serious threat!

Yes, I know these posters are very desirable items, but the mischief maker has only got to contact Julian’s office if he would like a few – as long as they are displayed for all to see!!