THIS WEEK IN 1992: Tory canvasser to be reprimanded for '˜socialist' slur

Peter Elliot claimed the female canvasser turned on him because he said he would not be voting Conservative.

Mr Elliot, aged 31, and his wife Nicky, 27, were set to have their home at Lincoln Road, Fratton, repossessed after being declared bankrupt.

Mr Elliot said: ‘I’ve been made redundant from engineering jobs twice in the last two years and I’m about to have my house repossessed.

‘When I told the woman I wouldn’t be voting Tory, she said: ‘Oh well, I suppose you’re a socialist then,’ and walked off.’

Mr Elliot, whose one-year-old daughter Kirstie suffered from a rare condition called Angelman’s syndrome, said he complained to the Tory campaign office.

In contrast, Mr Elliot said Liberal Democrat candidate Mike Hancock had written to the family when he learned of their plight.

‘He said he could help with Kirstie and our housing. We were going to vote Lib Dem anyway! But we really did appreciate Mr Hancock’s letter.’