Say yes to Tess

“I once stood for Parliament,” is the opening line on her twitter biography, as if this is the oddest thing ever.  But then, for many of us it would be too, once you really think about it. For we might be familiar with some elected politicians, or even know a few, but have we ever been a candidate for parliament? Tess Seddon, a theatre maker in her normal life, has. For the Yorkshire Party that is.

“What some of the most surprising lessons have been? Firstly, the amount of people who don’t vote. When I was going round doors many of them would be excited to talk politics, but wouldn’t vote. My musical is to make people who think politics is not for them rethink what they would be doing if…”

“Secondly, that if you stand for office, you have to be very vulnerable yourself. I really had to go out of my bubble to talk to people. Because of course I was worried about what people were thinking. And most importantly, that if you don’t understand something, you’d better mess with it, until you understand it. If anyone would stand for election we would all be living together much better.”