Tuesday 24 April 2012

Elections – From Rushmere Ward, Ipswich to Sangin Afghanistan (and then back to Rushmere)



I write this new post with just a week to go after a month of long, hard campaigning.

I won Rushmere Ward for the first time in 2008 that was after being the runner up in 2006 and 2007. The night of the count seems a very distant memory but I just remember the nerves, the excitement and most of all the pride in winning- even if it was only by 13 votes.

I love elections and campaigning but this election in 2012 will be very different to the election I was involved in during 2009.

That summer I found myself back with the army for a year and acting as the Operations Warrant Officer with 2 Rifles. We found ourselves based in Sangin in the Helmand Province and in seven months we had many of our regiment wounded and 25 of our battle group paid the ultimate sacrifice.

But on the 20th August 2009, the Afghan people were able to vote in their second presidential election. But instead of knocking on doors and delivering leaflets I found myself involved in planning a massive security operation that would enable the people of Sangin to vote.

The Taliban had other ideas. On the eve of the election this year, I will be delivering my last ‘Vote Ross’ leaflets but on the 19th August in 2009, I was stood with my helmet and body armour on as our base, FOB Jackson came under attack from rocket fire. A further 21 rockets would hit our camp over the next 24 hours.

Election day this year, will see me up in the early hours, delivering leaflets, knocking on doors but in Sangin, I spent the morning running up the stairs in the Fire Support tower helping replenish ammunition as we came under constant attack. So heavy was the fighting that we fired a total of 12 Javelin ant-tank missiles at the enemy – just so people could use their democratic right to vote.




From early afternoon though to the early hours of the next morning, I was in the Operations room as we continued to protect Sangin, it was not easy and we lost two men that day. Private Young and Sgt Macalese. I had got to know Mac quite well and we used to sit and try and do the crossword together back in the UK. He was highly rated and would have gone far in the army, his father had been in the SAS and was part of the team that was involved in the Iranian Embassy siege.



Sgt 'Mac'

Their loss was felt by many but we had to continue, we had a mission.

In 2008, I gained 1,026 votes as 2,333 people voted in Rushmere, the cost? A few hundred pounds on leaflets, a few blisters and two dog bites.

In 2009 in Sangin, 434 people voted, some of the bravest people I had ever met, they had been threatened by the Taliban, the town had been under attack for over 24 hours but they still went and placed their cross and handed in their ballot paper. The cost? Two dead from 2 Rifles, our camp hit by 22 rockets and in defence we had fired millions of bullets, artillery rounds and 12 missiles.




You do not have to vote in this country, you have that choice because in 1939 our ancestors fought to maintain our freedom but do not take the right to vote lightly, there are many places in this world where the right to vote is still being fought for.

On the 8th April I visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, on the Armed Forces Memorial I saw inscribed the names of Private Young and Sgt Macalese. I will remember that they gave their lives to help 434 Afghans vote. Democracy does not come without sacrifice.

Sunday 22 April 2012

Ransomes - Must remain as a sports club


It’s been great getting out and speaking to people in Rushmere Ward, Ipswich over the last few weeks. One subject that has been raised by a number of people on the doorstep is: what is the council planning to do with Ransomes Sports Club? There have been a number of incorrect rumours circulating and I can understand why people may be concerned.

Some people seem more interested in making Ransomes part of a political football game than working with the club and the council to keep Ransomes as one of the premier sports clubs in the county.

I can state categorically that we want to see the Sports Club stay on the site; to flourish, with more members, a variety of sports played and to become a hub of local community involvement.

I have watched a number of sports at Ransomes, from seeing a young Liam Trotter play for Ransomes Youth FC before going onto play for Ipswich Town, to being present at the club the last time Suffolk won the County Cricket Minor Championships.

I remember as many of you will that it was a Labour-run council that saved the club when Ransomes sold the land. We still want to see Ransomes exist as a sports club.
We have no intention of closing the club and turning it into a housing estate.

I am committed to working with the council and the Sports Club to make sure Ransomes remains the premier sports club in Ipswich. I would like to see both bowls and Suffolk Minor County Cricket return to Sidegate Avenue. The football club is flourishing but I want to see all sports to be continued to be played at Ransomes and not just football.

As your local councillor, a local resident and a sports fan, I will do all I can to help the club grow and be a home for the whole community.

Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts

Friday 13 April 2012

Ed Balls gives us a hand



Ed Balls became the second senior Labour politician to join us out on the doorstep this week, and he was met by over 20 Labour activists at the Hawthorn Road shops in South West Ipswich




Will we see any Tory ministers arrive in the town over the next few weeks? Or even Ben Gummer MP in Chantry, or Priory?



Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts

And the runners are.......

It seems like the longest election campaign ever and still 20 days to go...we are now well into leaflet delivering, knocking on doors, handing out posters and the more up to date election techniques of phoning residents, tweeting and blogging.

I am standing in Rushmere Ward, Ipswich - the fourth election I have fought in my own ward- losing the first two before winning in 2008 by 13 votes!

Those four years have gone fast including a year sabbatical in Afghanistan where I was involved in a slightly different election.

Back to the election this year, it seems the Tories are again hoping to win the ward back but sorry to disappoint the Tory blogger Kevin Algar, we are not being complacent and have just spent the last week, delivering 4,000 leaflets and knocking on doors - but unlike the Tory party in Ipswich, we also campaign in every ward in the town- and the residents of Bixley and Castle Hill will also receive our 'Local Voice' paper.

The full list of runners for the election in Rushmere is:

CHAMBERS
Christopher Kantara, The Heath, Tattingstone, Ipswich, IP9 2LX The Conservative Party Candidate

NELSON
Eric Robert 36 Leopold Road, Ipswich, IP4 4RP Green Party candidate

ROSS
Alasdair Donald Mackenzie 58 Lonsdale Close, Ipswich, IP4 4HD The Labour Party Candidate

WHITMORE
Robin Thomas 269 Cavendish Street, Ipswich, IP3 8BQ Liberal Democrats

At least this year we will not have the Tories basing their campaign on the fact that their candidate used to live in the Ward (moved at least 6 years ago) and our candidate lived in a different ward. But they still seem to think it is OK to attack other Labour candidates for not living in the ward they are standing in but keeping quiet about their own candidates. Not sure it is such a big deal to the residents, all they want is someone who will stand up for them, especially when times are tough, as they certainly are now.

The Lib Dems and the Greens are also standing,I used to moan about the Lib Dems standing as they do no work in the ward and have not produced a local election leaflet for at least six years but since the last General election, I have changed my view and think that Labour should stand in every seat in the country to give people a chance to vote for the party they support even if they can't win. This has become even more important since the Lib Dems have jumped in bed with the Tories. The good news is that in the East of England only Labour has a candidate in all 362 wards that are being contested.

The Greens are never going to stand in every ward and as their candidate is local I can understand why they wish to stand in Rushmere, disappointing after all the effort that I and my Labour colleagues put into saving Kiln Meadow and promoting the local Bus service that they wish to stand against Labour candidates.

But on the day it will be Chris Chambers who will be my main rival, I have met him briefly and it was great to see a young person with a passion for politics (even if it is the wrong sort!) he seemed intelligent, keen and most of all enthusiastic and will be a formidable opponent.

Like myself he has also got his own website and uses twitter to help get his message across - his blog is here.

It is disappointing that a number of the posts on his blog are inaccurate and though he did remove one post about the potential Youth Club on the Rushmere Estate he has still left posts on that are not factual about a phone mast and the pre-fabs.

Chris has also got involved in a number of campaigns including one to set up a 'Friends' group for Brunswick Road Park. I did email Chris and said that I would be interested in joining such a group (both as a local Cllr but also as a resident who lives next to the park and walks through it every day) but even after sending a second email have not received a reply- willing to believe that is down to him being busy on the campaign rather than being told not to reply to me.

It is obvious that Cllr Judy Terry is very involved in the campaign, can't remember her making the park such an issue when the Tory administration attempted to leave the parks open 24 hours a day and she also seems to forget that it was her party who introduced the 'long grass' policy in the park and the savings were included in their budget and are still included in the alternative budget they produced last month.

We want more young people like Chris involved in politics and he has informed me, win or lose in May he is here for the long term but it does seem to me that he is being used as part of a 13 month campaign for Judy Terry to retain her County Council seat and a 25 month campaign before she has to fight for her Borough seat - or if I do hold the seat in 20 days time - will she try and find a safer ward to fight? Not that there are many safe Tory wards left in Ipswich.

Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts

Friday 6 April 2012

Jack Dromey MP out campaigning in Ipswich



Today saw a large number of Labour volunteers and candidates out campaigning in the Priory Heath and Holywells Wards in Ipswich. We were joined by Jack Dromey MP, not just for the photograph! Jack spent the next two hours talking to residents on the Racecourse Estate.

We started the morning off in Bader Close where Ipswich Labour plan to start building over 100 family homes, the decision to start building council houses again has been welcomed by many of those we have met on the doorstep.

Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Fly tipping off Brunswick Road



A number of residents have asked for an update on the action the council took against the owner of the garages located between Belvedere, Brunswick and Whitby Road

The council served an untidy site notice against the owners in December but as most of you know, the owners have failed to clean up the site.

I have been in contact with the Council Officers and it has now been agreed that the council will now take the matter to Court and look to gain a prosecution.

What we do want to see as residents is that the area is cleaned up and does not become a location used by fly-tippers.




The council will also inspect a tree by the garages; it seems to have died and now constitutes a hazard to a number of residents in Belvedere Road.

Taking a landlord to court is not something that either the council or myself wanted but it seems we have no other option in this case.

There has been an increase in fly tipping all over Suffolk, not helped by the Tory run Suffolk County Council closing waste sites all over the county. The site at Chelmondiston has announced that it will close next month.

Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Steet, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts

Sunday 1 April 2012

My next 4 weeks ahead - 2nd April - 3rd May 2012

My regular week ahead post, will take a break for the next 4 weeks as I campaign to be re-elected as the Labour councillor for Rushmere Ward, Ipswich.

Most of any spare time I have will now be spent knocking on doors and delivering leaflets, not just in my own ward but all over Ipswich.

There will be some time away from the election with a visit next week to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. This has become an annual pilgrimage as I go to pay my respects to those who I served with but who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

I will also escape to the hills for a few days as I take a group of teenagers off to Mid Wales for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award expedition. But other than those two visits I will be spending as much time as possible campaigning in Ipswich. I know I have much more to learn about being a councillor but I also feel I have plenty to offer to the people of Ipswich.

In 2008 I won (on the third attempt)with a majority of just 13! It is now up to me to persuade the residents of Rushmere Ward that I am the right person to be their elected representative, living in the ward helps me understand their concerns but finding solutions to their issues is the real test of a councillor.

Promoted by John Cook c/o Ipswich labour Party, 33 Silent Steet, Ipswich, IP1 1TF on behalf of Alasdair Ross and the Labour Party Candidates, . Hosted (printed) by Blogger.com (Google Inc) of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts.