Kick, kick, punch. Kick, kick, punch.

Politics is tough, tiring, thankless and sometimes depressing. No one told me that it could be violent.

Now I am a big bloke and having been in the army for a while I can look after myself be but I wouldn't expect to do so outside an polling station. It seems that pugalist skills are needed if you want to be a Tory in Romford.

I know Romford quite well (half of my old battery is based there) and having met Andrew Rosindel a few times it would have been an obvious place for me to help out during the election campaign, had I not stood myself. It seems that I might have been needed as a bouncer.

The really worrying thing about this seemingly unprovoked attack was that it came from a Labour party activist. Is it just me or does this seem to be party of a pattern of casual violence perpetrated by Labour party helpers? Surely not!