Ipswich Labour- helping Obama

Ipswich Labour agent and councillor John Cook is on his way back to Ipswich after spending a week helping the Obama campaign, and whilst there he met Julius, a former Rushmere resident also supporting Obama and Julius even got the opportunity to vote for the President elect!




John, Rushmere resident Julius and Obama poster!

Back on the radio!

I have previously blogged about appearing as a guest on the Naked Football Show on Ipswich Community Radio (ICR), well I was back at the station today making my first appearance on the weekly run "Councillors" show. Each of the three main political parties gets a show and then every 4 weeks they all get together for a political discussion/argument!

Today we were hoping to go live to Ohio, where my fellow Labour Councillor, John Cook has been over in the States helping on the Obama campaign, but we were either let down by a technical problem or John was still out celebrating a fantastic win for Obama. So what did we talk about?

The main topic was Remembrance Day and how as a town and council we need not only to remember those who have lost their lives in previous wars and campaigns but what we can do to help serving soldiers and more importantly what we can do to support their families whist their husbands, (or wives, fathers, mothers) are serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan. We also discussed the Ipswich Bus service and the £5 million that Ipswich Borough Council may have lost after investing in an Icelandic bank. We had so much to talk about that we ran out of time, so it was a pity we could not get through to the USA to talk to John and discuss the Presidential election but we found there were plenty of local issues that were of as much more importance to the Ipswich public.

All over bar the shouting?

Bloomberg- Mayor for a third time?

Just back from New York and other then the TV News channels, there was not much sign of the US Presidential election. There were a couple of stalls in Time Square selling dodgy Obama fridge magnets and badges but you would have thought there would have been more on show with less than 2 weeks to go to polling day. It was only after taking the ferry to Staten Island that I saw my first election posters, two for Obama in a shop in St George on the Island.

The reason why? Obama having a double figure lead? They all now think it is a forgone collusion?

The TV and papers think it it's all over but in the bars there is still a fear that when it comes to polling day there will be many who find they can't vote for a black man. McCain has support as a war veteran he does have the respect of the electorate but it is his links to the Bush administration that hold him back more than having Palin as his running partner though she does seem to be the butt of many jokes as she is over here.

So it was strange to be close to Wall Street and still not here much talk of the election but politics was the talk of many bars but it was Mayor Bloomberg trying to push a change through City Hall that would allow him a third term that was the main political talking point. so even in New York, local issues are often more important to the electorate than national issues.