Sunday, 24 July 2011

Rural Parish elections - important for Labour



On Saturday, I joined a number of other members from the Ipswich Labour Party as we made our way towards the Essex border. Great Cornard was our final destination as we joined local members in campaigning for Tracey Welsh.

Tracey is standing for Labour this Thursday in a local parish by-election. I feel it is important that we have a Labour candidate in every election, County, District, town or parish - all part of our Labour fight back in the South and East of England. Now the Lib Dems have shown their real (Tory) face it is even more important that residents have a Labour candidate to vote for.

There is always much talk of how Parish Councils should not be political and that candidates should be Independents. But the reason for this election is that an Independent won this seat in May but then decided not to take up the seat. Money could have been saved as the Parish Council could have just co-opted another candidate from the election in May but the Tory Party wanted an election. So in the last 4 years, the council has had to spend almost £10,000 on elections caused by internal squabbling between Independents (and Tories).

From talking to residents on Saturday, Tracey has a good chance of winning. Many voters state that we were the only party they had call on them, plus the Lib Dems could not even find a candidate (remember this is part of Babergh - a seat the Lib Dems see themselves as the official opposition). The Independent candidate has distributed a leaflet but strangely with a drawing of a can of beer on the back of it!!

So if you live in Cornard, or know friends and family who live in the town, tell them to get out and vote for Tracey on Thursday the 28th July.

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