Electioneering

Ive just had a read of Cllr Tony Jones's website (www.cllrtonyjones.com/battle.html), where mature political debate looses out to childish name calling and spin. First he calls me 'Windy', then he lists every election result I've had, and puts a spin on it to make it look like the Greens are getting nowhere. He also accuses me of standing in different wards in different years, calling me a 'wandering wannabe'. He quotes me as saying 'others' are "incompetent, soggy, and grey", I dont recall calling anyone soggy, but it he cap fits. He is putting words from different letters Ive written together, I said they were incompetent managers when Council Leader D. Sutton said he was living in interesting times, as he seemed to be making a mess of the council policies to deliberately make things more interesting. I said they were grey in relation to the Green Party, as the big three parties seem grey by comparison.

Cllr Jones doesn't mention that since last year the number of people voting in Battle declined from 31% to 28% yet my number of votes and share of the vote went up from 13.0% to 13.4%, from 241 to 253 votes. The Labour vote in Battle fell from 990 to 971, and across Reading they lost 7 Cllrs. We did even better in Park ward, see my last blog. We are gaining momentum, they have lost it.

Annaliese Dodds (Labour Reading East candidate) lost in Billericay in 2005 (1) and Oxfordshire in 2001 (2), does that make her a 'wandering wannabe' also? Several Labour Cllrs have stood in other wards in other years, Cllr Jones displays his double standards.

Across the South Reading is the only Labour controlled council, and next year they may well loose control. So would anyone say that Labour did well? Yes actually, Labour are saying it was a good result as some predictions were that it would be worse. Cllr Sutton says in todays Post that it was because of national factors, clearly nothing to do with the one-way IDR, bins causing a stink, and the fact that Labour don't seem to be listening.

I watched a debate on the politics show on Sunday between Annaliese Dodds (Lab), Cllr Gareth Epps (Lib Dem Reading East candidate), Cllr Browne (Tory leader of Wokingham) and Derek Wall (Green Party Principle Speaker). A Dodds complained about the negative campaigning from other parties, being negative herself and somehow not reading their election leaflets. Cllr Brown said very little, when asked who did worst in the local election he said the Tories could have done better in Scotland, A Dodds and Cllr Epps said the electorate! Derek Wall was the only one speaking any real sense, he said Labour had lost thousands of activists and may well be out of power for 10 years. If politicians are going to spin they really should try and make it sound believable, or they just end up looking foolish.

1. www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge05/i02.htm
2. www.headington.org.uk/local_services/council/election_county_2001.htm