District And Town Council Elections 2015

April 10th 2015

ELDC announced the candidates for the forthcoming elections on May 7th. So I'm pleased to announce I'm standing as Labour's candidate for Trinity ward at ELDC.

Colleagues

Labour is also putting forward candidates in the rest of Louth and surrounding areas.

Priory and St James

Sarah Dodds and Stuart Pickering (this is a double ward which will return two councillors)

North Holme

David Hall

St Margaret's

Laura Stephenson

St Michael's

Neil Ward

St Mary's

Michael Bateson

Binbrook

Andrew Austin

Grimoldby

Dawn Blakey

Fulstow

Jason Garrett

Town council elections

It came as some surprise to me that most of the seats for town council were unopposed, the one exception being St Michael's ward. Neil Ward is standing as Labour's candidate there.

So, at the town council the confirmed seats are as follows:

Priory

Dawn Blakey, Lesley Harrison-Wiseman, Sue Locking

North Holme

David Hall, Laura Stephenson, Fran Treanor

St Margaret's

Jason Garrett, Chris Green, Malcolm Locking

St James

Andrew Leonard, Margaret Ottaway, Pauline Watson

Trinity

Andrew Austin, Ros Jackson

St Mary's

Jill Makinson-Sanders, David Wing

What I believe in

I believe the district council should:

• Make sure more affordable and sustainable homes are built in the right places in the town
  
• Promote and improve our local market to boost trade and tourism and safeguard jobs
  
• Support public services in Louth such as facilities for young people and the library
  
• Encourage local firms to pay the Living Wage.
  

I believe the whole community wins when local government provides services that help people work, reach their potential, and live in safety.

That's an extract from my campaign literature, which should give some sense of why I chose to stand and the kind of things I will fight for if elected.

Campaign feedback

For me one of the most important parts of campaigning for a seat is knocking on doors and talking to people. It's the only way to get an in-depth understanding of the issues local people face.

Since last year I have been working with Matt Brown, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Louth and Horncastle, and talking to people across the constituency. Many of the things I've heard have been similar, such as concerns about the NHS, potholes, and local transport. But one thing that does stand out is how different the concerns in each ward can be.

So whilst in the past I've written about the lessons learnt canvassing North Holme, or things Andy Austin learnt canvassing in Trinity, I won't pre-empt what I'm about to find out in this year's electoral campaign by commenting on what Trinity residents have told me so far. I've had quite a few conversations, and I expect to have many more in the weeks to come, as well as after the election.

Deadline to register

If you aren't registered to vote, the deadline is 20th of April in order to be able to take part on May 7th. You can do this online.

Campaign statistics

On the campaign trail I've met a lot of fascinating people and had some great conversations. Here are just a few statistics from my experiences so far:

• Number of electors in Trinity ward: about 1800
• Dogs fussed: countless
• Times I've been mistaken for the post lady: 4.

Of course, I hope you'll be moved to vote for myself or one of my colleagues in the Labour party in May's local elections, as well as for Matt Brown at parliamentary level. And beyond that, I hope this blog, and the council reports I've been making for the past few years, has inspired you to become engaged with local politics, whether that's by casting your ballot, contacting your representative, or getting more involved with the community in other ways.