HUSTINGS..

In my long career I have seen many things and spoken to many people, but one of my favourite experiences as a politician is that of the hustings.

For those of you who find the intricacies of political discourse a little on the dry side, a hustings is a meeting of a group of political competitors, designed to allow them to make their case to the people for why they should win.

There are many politicians who cannot hack them, but I always thrived in the cut and thrust of a hustings. There is something primal, something raw and uncompromising about being placed in a room full of ravenous eyes looking for your weaknesses and coming out on top.

I’m not naïve enough to believe I don’t have weaknesses of my own, but through the bustle of hustings I’ve learned to work with them. I’ve learned to smooth them over with the strengths I have, so that they no longer allow a foothold for my peers to latch onto.

The secret to tackling a hustings is simple and it is twofold. One – preparedness. You have to know your policies inside out, you have to know your opponents inside out, and you have to predict what challenges you might face, and have many plans to get yourself out of an unlikely fix.

Two – bloodlust. At a hustings you can’t be afraid to go in for the kill. There is no place at a hustings for niceties, and loyalties can often be made and broken in an instant by a politician taking the chance to throw a peer in with the wolves.

Sound familiar?

I’m strong at a hustings because I’m steadfast in what I stand for. Unwavering in my vision, unyielding in my policies. There is no doubt when I’m in that visceral scrum. I’m clear on what needs to be done, and I execute it with precision. Nobody is better prepared than me, and nobody goes in for the kill like me.

At Pandemonium I take on a new kind of hustings that comes with its own set of unknowns. I’ll take to a different kind of stage, and look out over the baying mob aching to take me down, only this time it will be my own competition, rather than the audience.

But the strategy remains the same. Deflect from my weaknesses, deliver on my strengths. Prepare for any and all possibilities and know my opponents inside out. Have a mental dossier of any moves they may make and have multiple plans to dig myself out of a hole.

In the end, when all others have fallen, there is only one man who will stand tall, able to answer all the brutal questions posed to him. There is only one man who will beat back his peers to become the premier candidate.

The hustings are tough, but there is always a winner, and when the lambs are led to their slaughter, the shepherd guiding them to the grinder is the same man who will stand tall at the Pandemonium hustings.

That man is me.

Vote Whitlock.