The photos and text below are from my coverage of the London mayoral election on 3 May 2012.
It is election morning and Siobhan Benita is sitting in her kitchen in Kingston having a cup of tea. An open box labelled “Power Megaphone With Pistol Grip” is sitting on a counter across the room from her. Benita’s campaign manager, Paul da Gama, is filling up orange and green balloons from a bright red helium tank. As he fills them, he hands them to Benita’s parents, who have come to visit, and to tie multi-coloured balloons together with ribbon and string.
Benita, the only independent mayoral candidate, alternates between helping da Gama and her parents, sipping her tea, talking on her phone, tweeting to her followers, and considering her route for the day. She has already visited her New Malden polling station, and plans to spend the rest of the morning canvassing the old-fashioned way: by driving through the city’s streets in a car adorned with posters and balloons, leaning out the window of a car, brandishing a megaphone with a pistol grip.
“We’ll drive around the city a bit,” Benita says. “Then we’ll be leafleting in Waterloo this afternoon. And then we’ll all go to the pub.”
Born in Wimbledon and raised in Merton, Benita has run her campaign on one guiding principle: people over political parties. The 40-year-old mother of two has strived to represent the disillusioned and politician-wary voter. Her policies lean heavy on improving the education system, giving a voice to young people in city hall, and giving transit fare breaks to everyone in the city. She’s made a promise to focus on the day-to-day issues that affect everyday people, rather than party politics.
Benita’s independent bid for mayor began with her leaving her senior civil service post in protest over NHS reforms. And while she appears to have gained some traction with the voters who know who she is, it hasn’t been enough to bring her close to an election win. Benita has struggled to get airtime on TV due to her independent status, with broadcasters like the BBC choosing not to grant her a party election.
“Yesterday was the first day that they put all seven of the candidates faces on the BBC,” Benita says. “And the fact that they did it then, just shows that they could have done it from the start.”
She pauses to consider her expectations heading into the vote count, then breaks her silence with a short sigh. “At this point, just coming in above any of the established parties would be big,” she says.
But Benita’s far from given up. She remains enthused, passionate and optimistic about her campaign, whatever may come of it. She lights up even more when she learns that the latest electoral polls show her receiving 4% of the first choice vote, up 1% from the previous poll. “That’s a good thing,” she says looking up brightly from her phone.
As Benita walks out the door of her home for the day, she reflects on the run up to this moment. “Going out canvassing in the car like this, after all the hard work of the past couple weeks,” she says smiling. “This is just mad!”
Benita and her parents grab their cameras to capture the moment, and da Gama starts the car. As they all drive off together, the balloons that have been tied to the car shake in the wet wind. Rain drizzles down from the grey skies that blanket London. Benita raises her megaphone toward a worker in a passing white truck: “Are you voting today?” she asks. “I will be,” he answers. “For Boris.” The whole car boos.
