This is a LOCAL Election for LOCAL People

local shop
Thursday 2nd May

Labour’s National Executive Committee are quite right to remind people that the local elections this Thursday are nothing to do with Brexit. Here at Bridgwater Town Council or there at Woolavington Parish Council or down stream at the People’s Republic of Otterhampton, none of us can deliver either Brexit OR a ‘Second Referendum’ no matter how many political leaflets people rip up in front of us. British democracy is alive and well and living in a ballot box near you this Thursday and if people decide not to turn up to vote because ‘there’s no democracy anymore’ then well, someone else will be deciding for them who runs their local council. Because even if just one person turns up to vote then someone gets in. I mean, it’s not Brussels that empties your bins -even though it might feel like it on occasion.

smed
There are choices…Minehead’s quite nice for instance

So on 23rd May you can democratically vote to express your democratic views on Europe in a democratic election to choose your democratically elected representatives but on Thursday May 2nd you do get to choose who you want to run your local councils. Because someone will. And when you wake up on Friday and you haven’t voted, someone will be there, nevertheless, running your lives for you. ‘No matter who you don’t vote for the Government gets in!’ and so does the council.

You actually have a choice

This is where the real choice matters and people do have a real choice. Here, right here in Sedgemoor, everywhere you live you have a real choice and it’s up to you. You can,for instance, vote Tory and have more of the same, cuts to services, more food banks, or you can vote Labour and change all this. Now you can’t really vote UKIP or Green as in Sedgemoor there’s less than 2 of each standing anywhere across the whole district (thats ‘1’). You’d probably be advised not to vote for any so called ‘independent’ as what does that even mean? You won’t know until they have to make a decision and then you might not agree with them. That’s why people form parties and present manifestos. And be especially aware of 2 people calling themselves ‘independents’ and then calling themselves a group – because that’s a Party-so why are they pretending to be ‘independents? In Frome they called themselves Independents, and they got elected and then they formed a party. The IfFy’s. About right. But take a closer look at any so called independents standing and often they’re just people who didn’t get selected by their party. Oh and of course there’s the Lib Dems. No, I’ve got bored just thinking about them.

kathy
These 2 muggers grabbed Cllr Pearce’s papers and ran off with them returning 20 minutes later saying they’d be voting Labour

Just Vote Labour

The important thing is that people have a vote and that vote matters. In a local government ward there are maybe 3000 people. There aren’t 3000 different opinions, instead there are large groupings of similar views. That’s why political parties were formed. To represent those views and to work together in the interests of the people that voted for those views held in common. On Bridgwater Town Council, which Labour controls 14-2, we believe that because we presented our manifesto in 2015 to every household in the town and we delivered that – not only through the letterbox but in actuality and can evidence it (here) . We are a popular and representative town council. To keep up that good work we need everyone in every seat in Bridgwater to vote for all the Labour candidates that you see on your voting slips on Thursday. Then on Friday you’ll have a Labour town council again and you know that we will do what we say we will. At the moment our councillors, candidates , party members and supporters are out there delivering the Bridgwater Rose through every letterbox. This is a public information sheet -it tells you who your candidates are in your area and it tells you our manifesto. Now, its totally your right to bin it, rip it up before our eyes or chase our (probably tired and weary) leafletters down the street screaming that you didn’t fight 2 world wars against the Germans so that the French could sell us their goat cheese, but it’s probably better just to read it -if you want to – and if you agree with it then vote Labour and if you don’t then see what the equally (probably) hard working other parties push through your letterbox.

No really, go on, Just vote LABOUR

fairfax
Fairfax? No,Unfair Facts in fact.

This week the Bridgwater Mercury excelled itself with it’s election coverage. Ok, fair enough, half the Tory candidates didn’t supply photos or biographies – they probably don’t want to win or for that matter for people to recognise them. But shoddy layout saw inaccurate titles and candidates simply confusing the already confused Mercury reader (the ones who think it’s still a newspaper for instance). I for instance am standing for WESTOVER (so rest easy people of ‘Fairfax’ -you have perfectly good Labour candidates in Hilary Bruce, Alex Glassford and Graham Granter (oh  and Diogo Rodrigues is a town candidate there-which you’d know about if the Mercury even bothered to ‘try to’ include that list) and people of EASTOVER you have the wonderful Li Gibson and Tony Heywood standing for you (plus Glen Burrows on town) and NOT Mick Lerry and Julie Cordiner -who of course are standing in Victoria. Confuseder? You won’t be, because the whole and accurate list is right here right now.

Sedgemoor’s Labour candidates here

Bridgwater’s Labour candidates here

Leeds United’s Premiership dreams here.

Li
Li Gibson , just one of our many candidates and helpers putting in the leg work to deliver the Bridgwater Rose

Well, you know-Just vote LABOUR. If you see a candidate with a Labour logo on your ballot paper, then vote for it.

Have you thought about voting LABOUR for instance ?

I wrote a historical article this week about the 1995 election – which was the last time the Tories lost power in Sedgemoor. You can read it here.

The message is easy.

1. The Tories CAN  lose power. In 1995 their vote dropped by 10% and Sedgemoor slipped from their grasp. At the moment their support is dropping by some 12% while Labour votes are up by 5% and growing.

2. The Lib Dems are not the most reliable of coalition partners, and while it may come to that if we end up with a ‘hung’ council, it really is better to try to get a clear Labour majority.

Although I’m pretty sure there’s some people out there who will wake up on Friday to hear we have a hung council and who will be cheering ‘Yes! I didn’t bother voting myself but finally someone’s taken it into their own hands and hung the buggers!..wait a minute…..now who’ll empty me bins….’

 

The People’s  ‘Vote LABOUR’  Campaign Gallery

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