Our final ward to watch is Hockley Central, for elections to Hockley Parish Council.
The election here is interesting in two ways.
Firstly, there are 11 candidates standing for 10 places – so everyone gets elected except for the poor person who comes bottom!
And also, nobody is standing as a Conservative candidate this time- most people are standing either as independents, or for the Hockley Residents Association.
Mark Anderson, who some years ago was a Conservative District Councillor, is one of those standing as an independent.
Current Conservative District Councillor Maddocks signed Mark Anderson’s nomination paper.
Mark Anderson has signed the nomination papers of one independent candidate, Veronica Randall, and one HRA candidate, Tim Gleadell.
Tim Gleadell has signed the nomination papers of another independent candidate , Steven Chelmsford, and one HRA canddiate, Lesley Vingoe.
This is all getting very complicated…. 🙂
Its even more complicated than that, Chris.
Brian Hazelwood is standing in District elections as Conservative in Hockley Central but as an Independent in Hockley West parish election. Similarly. Mike Carter is standing as Conservative in the District elections but as an Independent in the Parish (where he is already elected unopposed).
Why are the Conservatives so reluctant to show their true colours?
Brian
They are showing their true colours by standing as Conservatives.
Hilton, if “their true colour” is conservative, why mislead voters by standing as independent (especially in a different ward)? They can’t have it both ways!
Brian As I am sure you know,in almost all cases candidates for Parish Councils stand as Independents even although their main political allegiance is already clear.
I don’t think it’s misleading, I think it’s because town and parish council business has a tendency to be apolitical.
I agree with Alison, there is a case for standing on a party label for District and as an independent at parish level. But when you do that , you really need to be certain that you do act independently and not follow any party whip.
Chris
This may be something you, Hilton and I could all agree on. Certainly, I was briefly a Great Wakering Parish Councillor along with my two fellow District Ward Councillors, all standing as Conservatives as I recall, and have since attended many meetings there since for the DCs reporting slot on the agendas, but there has never been any whip there and I know of none elsewhere. Indeed, Parish debates there and elsewhere often end with a multitude of individual views expressed for the poor old Chairman to attempt to square amicably.
Perhaps Brian Guyett can identify for us Parishes both with councillors affiliated to a political party and also a party whip?
Mmmm, Hilton, can you confirm there is no Tory party whip on Rayleigh Town Council?
Chris I confirm that there is no Tory Party whip on Rayleigh Town Council
Thanks Hilton, that’s worth the public knowing.
Interesting – thanks for the comments so far.
Looking at the other two parish/town elections currently shown on the RDC website (i) Rayleigh Whitehouse lists three candidates as “Conservative” and (ii)Rayleigh Grange lists one candidate as “conservative”, one as UKIP, and two as “independent” (these are the Lumleys ie Libdem). So in two out of three local elections, the conservatives candidates are designated as such.
I would like to believe that all parishes do operate on an apolitical basis. But personally, I think it would be helpful if voters were clear as to current, active political affiliations, and that should not result in parishes becoming political.
Chris and June Lumley has have sat as independents on the Town Council and Lib Dems on the District Council for the past 10 years, and I think their residents are generally clear on that.
It should not be a surprise that there were Conservative candidates for Rayleigh Town Council, including 15 who were elected unopposed. Ever since the Council was established in 1996 almost all of the councillors have been Conservative or Liberal Democrats. Until UKIP won a seat this morning there had never been a councillor from one of the smaller Parties and only a few Independents, such as Chris and June Lumley and for those with long memories, Beryl Lovett.
If there is no Tory whip, and there certainly is no LibDem one, then surely all R.T.C. members are independent.