In contesting the Hartlepool by-election, the candidate for the SDP decided to use a militaristic style to start his campaign.
Yesterday, David Bettney the new Social Democrat Party candidate for the Hartlepool by-election kickstarted his campaign by linking to his army past.
Bettney drove a slightly advertisement friendly modified CVRT Sabre, a tank he used in his service in the Army’s Light Dragoons. Bettney served for 22 years before leaving to work in the Oil and Gas Industry.
The tank allowed him to gather support before moving to the Headland where he gave a speech for his “vision for jobs” according to the Hartlepool Mail.
Bettney stated at his event:
“If you look at it, would you vote in the farmer from Thirsk or the doctor from Basingstoke? I don’t think you would.
“I think a town like this needs someone like me who grew up as an ABA boxer, grew up on a council estate, who knows what it’s like to be on the edge of antisocial behaviour and probably the wrong side of the law a few times when I was younger.
But having the outlet of the Army, having the outlet of the boxing and the rugby clubs and being able to go in in life, have a full career in the Army and then spend over 10 years working in the oil and gas industry in the Middle East and building businesses from the ground up, I employ about 600 people and all this has come over 30 years of hard graft and learning.
I don’t know if any of these people know how to do job creation, I don’t think they know how to go into the tough areas.
I definitely understand their plight and what they need to get onto the straight and narrow”
Bettney told the Hartlepool Mail that he has more experience than the other candidates as they would not get in on their CVs but he would be better with his experience in business and in running social and rugby clubs.
