I have just been looking at the list of nominations for this year’s local elections in Crawley.
It looks like being an interesting election. Several wards have straight three-way battles between the main parties (Pound Hill North, Maidenbower, Broadfield North, Pound Hill South, Langley Green) but others are peppered with fringe parties and independents.
Southgate is the most marginal ward in town and has a BNP candidate and a Green candidate. I am pretty sure Labour have more support there than other parties, but several years ago a lot of our supporters voted Green and got a Tory councillor who was, frankly, useless. She eventually resigned and gave back some of her allowance in recognition of the fact that she did nothing. The important thing there is to make sure our supporters are well aware that Green votes could give them a Tory councillor again, or even a Tory council!
If you want to know what a Tory council would be like, just look at page two of the Crawley Observer this week, where their deputy leader is already getting excited about how many children’s playgrounds can be closed in Pound Hill, Ifield and Bewbush to save money.
Where I live in Broadfield South we have a Green candidate. Again, we have more support in the area, but the Tories currently hold the seat because of the Green vote. Their incumbent won by 22 votes and the Green party had over 100 votes which were never likely to be Tory votes. Last time round we were complacent here, but thats a mistake we have learnt from and I think the Tories know it.
Ifield and Furnace Green also have a range of candidates with lots of opportunity for the vote splitting so many ways it could be hard to predict the result. Again, our success will lie in persuading our natural supporters not to get distracted by fringe candidates who will just let the Tories in by the back door, or just stay at home for the same result.
Apart from Southgate, the BNP are also standing in West Green, Furnace Green and Ifield. I hope this increases the turnout by getting people out to vote against them. They are insulting the people of those wards by suggesting they are the sort of places where the BNP belong. If decent, fair voters stay at home and do nothing they will just be proving them right.
With all that going on, only a fool would predict the outcome. So I predict that Labour will hold the council and increase our number of councillors by one.
Skuds, as a “fringe candidate”, I would really appreciate it if your ol’ Party (especially in Ifield’s ‘John Stanley’ propaganda) would stop ‘milking’ the hot school meals issue for its own party-political ends. Where were you all in 1999 when they first axed the service ?!! Janet Sully was the only ‘Labourite’ to turn up to one of the many protests organised at the time (in Horsham!). Laura Moffatt has now moved things along – thanks mostly to Jamie Oliver…but the rest of you…(except Chris Mullins)…I was deafened by your silence. You didn’t let down me – you let down the children.
I can only speak personally, but at the begining of 1999 I was a childless, person in Southgate and not following local events very closely, still being fairly new to the town. I’ll admit I did not notice what was going on. By the end of 1999 I was in Broadfield with a new instant family (just add water) and a lot more focussed on sorting my own life out.
Why not be pleased that everyone else is coming round to your point of view. Why else have you been running your campaign if not to persuade the rest of us to agree with you?
I have been running the ‘Hot Meals’ campaign for seven years, primarily for the sake of the children – not primarily to “persuade the rest” of you “to agree with” me (God forbid!).
We have all let down the children – including me – but there are those who are more ‘guilty’ than others – Conservatives for abusing their powers by making it happen; New Labour for misusing their powers by letting it happen.
People can say that it was a wrong decision. The point, however, is to change it.
Great letter in the local rag, Skuds !
Thanks. I am genuinely wound up by that issue and I think I did well to not actually use the words ‘trough’ and ‘snout’ in it.
Nice one – I think I also do well to not actually use the words f…..g s… ….s !
Did you notice the comment by the Crawley Observer on that Letters Page :
“This week, the Observer has been ‘overwhelmed’ by letters from councillors. Although we welcome your views and interest in our publication, we will not be publishing any further letters from candidates until after the May elections”.
I’m not at all happy about that – not just from my own point of view. ‘Democracy’ does not seem very well served by such a measure.
What do you think ? I’m not sure whether or not to make a formal complaint to the paper’s editor.
I can see how they would be inundated by letters from candidates, but witholding them seems to have more of an impact on an independent like yourself.
At least I have several hundred members of my party who could potentially write in with a similar point of view, you do not have that sort of support. You do have the option of resorting to a nom de plume, but I think we would all recognise your style 🙂
In that respect it seems to have a disproportionate impact on people like you. Of course its their ball and they can decide who they let into the game.
I think they would be better off being more pragmatic and just ignoring blatant self-publicity but still publishing a letter if it has anything interesting to say.