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LABOUR IN SEDGEMOOR
A DANGEROUS NEW POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
THE RIGHT WING ON THE MARCH....
The June elections were a disaster for the Left and a triumph for the Right. No-one can deny this. Tories in control almost everywhere , the Media preparing us for a Conservative Government within 9 months and 2 leading members of the BNP representing Britain in the European parliament. Things haven't been so bad in years.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
In Somerset the Tories took control from the Lib Dems and 2 of the 4 Labour councillors lost their seats - both in Bridgwater. Our staunchly Labour town with it's radical past and history of municipal progress pioneered by the local Labour Party lost 4,475 votes and 2 out of the 3 seats it held to Tories. Thats 70% of Labour voters who didn't vote this time round and let in the Tories.
Labour LOST more votes than the Tories had in TOTAL in 2005!!
However....the Tory vote also dropped substantially....by 1,170 votes (27%) , and the LibDem vote dropped by 2,129 (59%).
This sounds bad. And it is. But it;s compounded by the fact that the whole exercise appears to have been a reverse beauty contest with whichever parties vote collapsing the least goetting in! Hence the ridiculous situation in solid Labour Bridgwater South where hard working sitting Labour councillor Pat Parker was ousted by 32 votes by the non entity Tory (formerly Lib Dem then Labour turncoat) Steve Gill who did no canvassing, hardly any leafletting and didn't show up on the day at any polling station.
The only parties in the town that GREW in votes were the ones that stood for the first time...and they were of course the far Right parties of UKIP (who achieved 251 votes) and the BNP (who unearthed 144 voters).
And lets be honest - if you make up your mind to actually vote BNP you;re either letting yourself be seriously misinformed or you're an actual fascist.....so thats a bit scary .
Labour LOST more votes than the Tories had in TOTAL in 2005!!
However....the Tory vote also dropped substantially....by 1,170 votes (27%) , and the LibDem vote dropped by 2,129 (59%).
This sounds bad. And it is. But it;s compounded by the fact that the whole exercise appears to have been a reverse beauty contest with whichever parties vote collapsing the least goetting in! Hence the ridiculous situation in solid Labour Bridgwater South where hard working sitting Labour councillor Pat Parker was ousted by 32 votes by the non entity Tory (formerly Lib Dem then Labour turncoat) Steve Gill who did no canvassing, hardly any leafletting and didn't show up on the day at any polling station.
The only parties in the town that GREW in votes were the ones that stood for the first time...and they were of course the far Right parties of UKIP (who achieved 251 votes) and the BNP (who unearthed 144 voters).
And lets be honest - if you make up your mind to actually vote BNP you;re either letting yourself be seriously misinformed or you're an actual fascist.....so thats a bit scary .
Lost by 32 votes to Tories... in Hamp!! 963 missing Labour voters!
Labour - 1,000 votes in Bower and pushed from holding the seat into 3rd place
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WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
It's a fact that if Labour drops any lower locally it will be wiped out in Bridgwater. The District and Town elections are less than 2 years away and there could be a collapse, losing Labours majority in the town and control of the Town Council. The Tories may pick up seats by accident in the freefall and the biggest danger is that the BNP could gain seats in the vacuum.
So if thats the scenario it;s pretty crucial to find a bright side to look on....
So if thats the scenario it;s pretty crucial to find a bright side to look on....
LOVERIDGE STEMS THE TORY TIDE
Of course there IS a bright side. But....we have to learn from our mistakes and put in the work where it matters.
In the Bridgwater North & Central ward Labour won!! (hooray!!) Sitting councillor Dave Loveridge staved off a strong Tory campaign by local grocer Lance Duddridge. Tories simply haven't ever dared to canvass and door knock on the Sydenham estate...but Duddridge did, and came within 20 votes of taking the seat.
However, the crucial factor in this North-Central ward was the intervention of the BNP. If the BNP hadn;t stood then an army of over 50 anti-fascist acitivists wouldn't have piled in to leaflet the ward 3 times over with anti BNP literature and a lacklustre Labour campaign could have seen that seat go the way of the others.
The Loveridge victory was Labours line in the sand and had we not won... the game would be up.
In the Bridgwater North & Central ward Labour won!! (hooray!!) Sitting councillor Dave Loveridge staved off a strong Tory campaign by local grocer Lance Duddridge. Tories simply haven't ever dared to canvass and door knock on the Sydenham estate...but Duddridge did, and came within 20 votes of taking the seat.
However, the crucial factor in this North-Central ward was the intervention of the BNP. If the BNP hadn;t stood then an army of over 50 anti-fascist acitivists wouldn't have piled in to leaflet the ward 3 times over with anti BNP literature and a lacklustre Labour campaign could have seen that seat go the way of the others.
The Loveridge victory was Labours line in the sand and had we not won... the game would be up.
Dave Loveridge who fought off the Tories by 20 votes in the Sydenham and Eastover County wards and smashed the Fascists to a mere 8%
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THE FIGHTBACK STARTS HERE!
The Tories won the County Council elections and now hold 3 out of 4 Bridgwater seats...... so could we have a Tory Government again??
If we don't want that to happen we have a lot of work to do. We have to convince people that a Labour vote DOES make a difference and we have to recognise the failings of the New Labour Project that has taken us into disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushed privatisation further than the Tories ever did and transformed participatory Party democracy to a toothless sham for fear of controversy.
Labour CAN rebuild in Bridgwater because fear of the Tories is already turning to reality as people remember what sort of party they are ,always have been and always will be.
Within weeks of the county election victory the Sedgemoor Tories announced the sale of the Splash swimming pool (not before or during the campaign..so clearly not a vote winner) and the secretive plans to replace it with a Tescos...so people are now up in arms. Labour councillors on the other hand, have led the opposition, voted consistently against, called in the decision to scrutiny and have engaged with the campaigners throughout. Labour councillors DO make a difference. People are now realising this.
Tory MP Ian Liddle Grainger was exposed as one of the biggest benefactors of the recent expenses scandal- claiming 'you gets what you pays for'... Outed for sending emails to himself (apparently to look good) ..... Not intervening in the Splash closure-whilst weeping crocodile tears... ILG's position is shaky.
The LibDem candidate is invisible (lives in Wells) and has no LibDem presence locally to fall back on-despite LibDem leader (and incidentally Wells area candidate) Joe'90'Leach attempting to get his picture in every news story going to make up for this . The lib Dems were wiped out locally several years back, have no councillors in the town and collapsed from 2nd place in the 2001 general election to a poor 3rd place by 2005
The Greens have failed to make any impact into serious voting patterns locally and have rarely stood for council seats.
The biggest benefactors of a future General Election campaign-should Labour fail to revive- would almost certainly be any BNP candidate unless we continue to turn the tide.
If we don't want that to happen we have a lot of work to do. We have to convince people that a Labour vote DOES make a difference and we have to recognise the failings of the New Labour Project that has taken us into disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushed privatisation further than the Tories ever did and transformed participatory Party democracy to a toothless sham for fear of controversy.
Labour CAN rebuild in Bridgwater because fear of the Tories is already turning to reality as people remember what sort of party they are ,always have been and always will be.
Within weeks of the county election victory the Sedgemoor Tories announced the sale of the Splash swimming pool (not before or during the campaign..so clearly not a vote winner) and the secretive plans to replace it with a Tescos...so people are now up in arms. Labour councillors on the other hand, have led the opposition, voted consistently against, called in the decision to scrutiny and have engaged with the campaigners throughout. Labour councillors DO make a difference. People are now realising this.
Tory MP Ian Liddle Grainger was exposed as one of the biggest benefactors of the recent expenses scandal- claiming 'you gets what you pays for'... Outed for sending emails to himself (apparently to look good) ..... Not intervening in the Splash closure-whilst weeping crocodile tears... ILG's position is shaky.
The LibDem candidate is invisible (lives in Wells) and has no LibDem presence locally to fall back on-despite LibDem leader (and incidentally Wells area candidate) Joe'90'Leach attempting to get his picture in every news story going to make up for this . The lib Dems were wiped out locally several years back, have no councillors in the town and collapsed from 2nd place in the 2001 general election to a poor 3rd place by 2005
The Greens have failed to make any impact into serious voting patterns locally and have rarely stood for council seats.
The biggest benefactors of a future General Election campaign-should Labour fail to revive- would almost certainly be any BNP candidate unless we continue to turn the tide.
KATHY PEARCE -Labour's recently selected Parliamentary Candidate for Bridgwater & West Somerset. Local, Labour and Likeable!
Labour Election agent Cllr Brian Smedley. To contact the Campaign , email us on bridgwaterlabourweb@live.co.uk, phone us on 07772 402671 or visit us at Unity House where we will be holding surgeries up to and throughout the Election Campaign.
LOCAL, LABOUR AND LIKEABLE...THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Bridgwater Labour Party has chosen to put it's faith in a local candidate Kathy Pearce - and it;s a good choice. Kathy is a respected local activist-born and bred in Bridgwater, a popular councillor known for her hard work within her ward and around the District and supported unanimously across the party. Untainted by any controversy, the Deputy Leader of the District party, and a Trades Unionist who works in the difficult field of families and childcare where she can demonstrate the full value of Labour Government funding. A worker and a mother, she is the right person for the job and the Tories are rightly unnerved by her appointment.
If you don;t want the Tories back in power, if you are disgusted at the possibility of a sizeable BNP presence in our town and if you recognise the value of Labour represention then nows the time to get involved. The Labour Party is only as good as the people in it....it;s time to rebuild our party from the grassroots up.
Cllr Brian Smedley
Labour Agent for the Bridgwater & West Somerset Constituency
If you don;t want the Tories back in power, if you are disgusted at the possibility of a sizeable BNP presence in our town and if you recognise the value of Labour represention then nows the time to get involved. The Labour Party is only as good as the people in it....it;s time to rebuild our party from the grassroots up.
Cllr Brian Smedley
Labour Agent for the Bridgwater & West Somerset Constituency
If you want to find out more about the Labour Party - our policies, latest news stories or how to join up, click on the link above.
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