Last week a canvasser knocked on my door on behalf of my local councillor. As it was the first time this had happened in nearly six years, I felt modestly privileged. The canvasser, a pleasant and polite retired man, asked if his candidate could rely on my vote. I explained I had a problem with a party that claimed to believe in social justice yet relentlessly opposed efforts to bridge the gap between the poorest and better-off areas of my city. He said it wasn’t like that at all – it was just the funding mechanism they objected to. Julian Dobson, editorial director, New Start Online magazine