Labour's candidates for Thursday 9th September
20 August 2010
Exeter Labour Party has
announced its slate of candidates for the Exeter City Council elections to be
held on Thursday 9th September 2010.
The Labour team is: Heather Morris (Cowick), Jerry Fox (Duryard), Rachel Sutton (Exwick), Paul Bull (Heavitree), Ian Martin (Mincinglake), Roger Spackman (Newtown), Moira MacDonald (Pinhoe), Rachel Lyons (Polsloe), Lesley Robson (Priory), Ust Oldfield (St David’s), Eliot Wright (Topsham) and Pete Edwards (Whipton Barton).
Labour will be seeking
to provide a strong voice for our city, in contrast to the present incompetent
Lib Dem administration who have put craven loyalty to their Tory political
masters in London ahead of the interests of the
people of Exeter.
Sadly, because of an
administrative problem, Labour will not be fielding a candidate in Alphington.
This is the first time in decades that Labour has not fielded a candidate in a
city ward and it is a matter of great regret to the party that Alphington voters
will not have the opportunity to vote Labour this time.
23 July 2010
Elections
in twelve City wards will be held on Thursday 9th September. These
special elections are to fill the vacancies caused by a legal ruling
following the Tory/Lib Dem Government's decision to overturn plans to
make Exeter a Unitary local authority. One Lib Dem councillor who was elected in a by-election in May will be allowed to remain in office, leaving seats to be contested in: Alphington (previous incumbent Lib Dem), Cowick (Tory), Duryard (Lib Dem), Exwick (Tory), Heavitree (Liberal), Mincinglake (Labour), Newtown (Labour), Pinhoe (Tory), Polsloe (Tory), Priory (Labour), St David’s (Lib Dem) and Whipton Barton (Labour).
In addition a by-election will be held in Topsham following the resignation of a sitting Conservative Councillor.
Local Lib Dems back Tory VAT increase
22 July 2010
Despite David Cameron and Nick Clegg both telling voters before the General Election that they had no plans to increase VAT, the Con-Dem Government has now announced an increase in VAT to 20% from January next year.
The VAT increase willl hit the poorest hardest. VAT amounts to 10.8% of the income of the poorest 20% of the population but just 4.5% of the income of the richest 20%.
But Lib Dem councillors on Exeter City Council sided with the Tories to oppose a Labour motion condemning the increase. Ironically Exeter Lib Dems complained during the General Election campaign that "Tory internal email reveals secret plot to raise VAT to 19.5%".
Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2010
20 July 2010
Exeter Labour Party was well represented at the Annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival over the weekend of 16th to 18th July.Exeter's Member of Parliament, Ben Bradshaw, attended and addressed the rally. He also joined those laying wreaths at the grave of James Hammett, the only Martyr to return to live in the village.
Foir more information on the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the TUC Martyrs Museum click here.
New Members Evening
16 July 2010
Exeter
Labour Party has seen a surge in membership applications since the
General Election. On 15 July a new members event was held to
welcome first time members, re-joiners and disillusioned Lib Dems, to
welcome them to the party and give them an opportunity to meet Ben
Bradshaw and local City and County Councillors.If you would like to join the Labour Party please click this link.
Con-Dem local government shambles
10 July 2010
Despite the majority of local politicians of all parties backing the move, and strong support from Exeter residents in submissions to the Boundary Committee, the Con-Dem government has overturned plans to give Exeter Unitary Status. But this blow to local democracy has now descended into shambles with the High Court ruling on 5 July that 13 city councillors whose term of office expired in 2010 were disqualified from sitting on the City Council with immediate effect.
The 13 councillors were due to stand for re-election in May but had been granted extensions in office as part of provisional arrangements for unitary status. The decision means that there will now probably need to be elections this summer in the following wards: Alphington (current incumbent Lib Dem), Cowick (Tory), Duryard (Lib Dem), Exwick (Tory), Heavitree (Liberal), Mincinglake (Labour), Newtown (Labour), Pennsylvania (Lib Dem), Pinhoe (Tory), Polsloe (Tory), Priory (Labour), St David’s (Lib Dem) and Whipton Barton (Labour).
The City Council’s hopes that the judge would be persuaded to adopt a legal route allowing those councillors to remain in office until next May – thus avoiding their immediate disqualification and the need for costly and unwanted elections during the summer – were dashed through the unhelpful intervention of Devon County Council who seem to be putting administrative self interest ahead of Exeter’s voters and Council Tax payers.
To add to the difficulties the Judge declined to make any order to hold new elections for the 13 seats, without which the City Council might not have a legal basis on which to call the elections.
Acting Labour Group leader Dilys Baldwin said: “This is a complete shambles. The Con-Dem government has decided to put the political interests of Tories in rural Devon ahead of local democracy in Exeter, and now, the intervention of the County Council has resulted in unnecessary and expensive local elections at a time when many voters will be on holiday.”
This debacle is entirely the fault of the new Tory Government and the Tory run Devon County Council. But it is no surprise that the Tories new-found political bedfellows, the Liberal Democrats, are suggesting that the whole unitary shambles is Labour’s fault and even suggested that Ben Bradshaw sought to get unitary status “purely for party political gain”. A predictably cheap shot – for which they can offer no evidence, and which ignores the fact that all City Liberal and Tory Councillors backed unitary status, as did many Liberal Democrats, presumably not for Ben Bradshaw’s political advantage!
Lib Dems back Tory gerrymandering
9 July 2010
At the General election the Tories were opposed to Electoral Reform. The Lib Dems wanted Proportional Representation. Labour floated the Alternative Vote – where voters rank candidates in order of preference.
The Con-Dem Government has now announced their proposals for a referendum of electoral reform, offering a change from First Past the Post to Labour’s proposed Alternative Vote system! But the proposal comes with a typical Tory sting in the tail, with a plan for nationwide gerrymandering to change constituency boundaries to deliver more seats to the Tories at the next election. No surprise that a measure to benefit the Tories was announced in Parliament by the leader of the Liberal Democrats. As we said in the May elections: Vote Yellow, Get Blue!
Respect 2010
7 June 2010
13,500
attended the Exeter Respect festival in Belmont Park on the afternoons
of 5th and 6th June, mostly in warm sunshine. Exeter Respect is the city's annual celebration of diversity. Since 1997 Exeter Respect has use d performing and creative arts to promote multi-cultural understanding and say no to racism and all forms of prejudice.
Exeter Labour Party played a key part in the organisation of this years event. Labour Councillor Ian Martin was volunteer co-ordinator for the event and the Exeter Labour Party headquarters in Clifton Hill was used as a secure storage place before the event.
The Labour Party stall ran successfully on both days attracting interest from people who wanted information about joining the Labour Party. It also raised £45 from the sale of books which has been donated to the excellent St Sidwell's Community Centre which ran the community cafe throughout the festival.
Lib Dem Councillors join Labour
7 June 2010
Two Exeter Liberal Democrat councillors have defected to Labour. Cllr Rob Hannaford, who represents St Thomas ward on the City Council and the Exwick and St Thomas division on Devon County Council, and Cllr Adrian Hannaford, who represents Exwick ward, switched to Labour following the decision of the Lib Dems to join a coalition government under the Tories.
Cllr Rob Hannaford said: "We are both on the left of the party. We have spent a lot of time working for the Lib Dems and never thought we would be supporting a Tory Prime Minister."
Ben Bradshaw MP said: "There are many Liberal Democrats who share their deep dismay at Nick Clegg's decision to prop up a Conservative Government. They will find a very warm welcome among fellow progressives in the Labour Party."
Thank you for your support
7 May 2010
Ben Bradshaw and Exeter Labour Party thanks everyone who supported Labour in the elections on 6th May.
Ben was re-elected to represent the people of Exeter in Parliament with a majority of 2,721 over the Conservatives.
Ben said: "Exeter is a fantastic city and it is a huge privilege to represent the people here. I am humbled they have put their faith in me again and it is a good result locally.
"Everyone knew I was the most vulnerable cabinet minister but in spite of all the Conservatives efforts and the Ashcroft money that was thrown at Exeter there has been a very small swing for the Conservatives, one of the smallest in the country.
"I would like to think my record of delivery for the city shows that I have stood up for Exeter and I will continue to serve the city to the best of my ability."
The full result for Exeter is here.
| Exeter
can't be bought 7 May 2010 The Conservatives spent thousands of pounds on leaflets, magazines and letters mailed to Exeter voters in the run up to the election. Some city voters received over 20 different direct mail leaflets from the Tories and, because much of it did not mention the local Tory candidate, it does not count towards her election expenses. But Exeter's electorate decided that their votes were not going to be bought by the millions of pounds poured into Tory coffers by millionaire tax exile Lord Ashcroft. Ironically recipients of the Tory mailshots included Ben Bradshaw and his agent, who was invited to make a donation to Tory campaign expenses! |
Lib
Dems wrong again! 7 May 2010 Throughout the campaign Labour told voters that Exeter was a straight contest between Labour and the Tories. Sensible analysis of recent electoral evidence told us this - and the result proved it. But the local Lib Dems shamelessly lied to the electorate, telling voters that it was a "two horse race" between them and Labour. Not that this was a surprise. They told an almost identical lie in 1992, telling voters that Labour was out of the running and Exeter was a "two horse race" between Lib Dems and Tories. The Tories won, narrowly beating Labour. But it demonstrates once again that the Lib Dems are utterly shameless. They simply cannot be trusted to be honest with Exeter's voters. |
Fox Tour comes to Exeter
3 May 2010
The
League
Against Cruel Sports
brought their 'Fox Tour' to Exeter on 30 April. Ironically
their
visit coincided with the visit of former Tory frontbencher Anne
Widdecombe (who opposed fox hunting) to support the Tory candidate for
Exeter (who wants to repeal the hunting ban). See the video
of
the Fox Tour in Exeter here. Labour's
Ben Bradshaw backs the ban.More doublespeak from Exeter Lib Dems
2 May 2010
A
few days ago we published an analysis of outrageous Lib Dem election
claims made in Exeter in recent years. We did not expect to
be
updating it so soon. But last weekend we saw yet another
example
of Lib Dem doublespeak, telling voters to ignore "two horse race
claims" from other parties, while delivering leaflets claiming that the
election in Exeter is a "two horse race!". moreGuardian asks voters to back Labour in Exeter
1 May 2010
The Guardian has declared its support for the Lib Dems, but
with an important caveat. In Labour-Conservative seats like
Exeter they ask voters to consider voting tactically for Labour to keep
the Tories out. more