Today (Thursday 18th November) is polling day in Binscombe in the Godalming Town Council by-election.
The election takes place on the retirement of Green councillor Jo Purvis due to ill-health. Unusually there are just two candidates – Labour and the Lib Dems chose not to stand to support the Green Party candidate.
Polling Station is Binscombe Church, Barnes Road from 7 am -10 pm
Green Party member Steve Williams said:
“It is a straight contest between Claire Weightman of the Green Party and the Conservatives – reflecting the collaborative, progressive coalition on the Town Council between Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour and our one independent councillor, with the Conservatives choosing the route of opposition.
Clare would make a brilliant local councillor and would be a great asset to the progressive coalition on GTC. I wish her every success.”
The Conservative candidate is former Godalming Mayor and Waverley Councillor Liz Wheatley, who we thought had retired from politics several years ago, but who gamely stands as a paper candidate whenever called upon to rock up for an election, anywhere!
Does this organisation understand that the word ‘Conservative’ includes conserving Godalming’s roads and countryside?
As you can see from the picture below – when residents drive they fly!
This is the sort of leafleting you could expect from restaurants and bars in Spain – but not on a residential road in Godalming!
Complaints that flooded into the Godalming Community board, resulted in Tory Agent Sean Donovan-Smith having to apologise and send somebody out to litter pick their own candidates publicity. You couldn’t make it up – really you couldn’t!
It looks as though the Conservatives had paid deliverers to distribute the literature. Deliverers, who then left it on people’s doorsteps up until 10 pm at night, and on car windscreens.
Local Party members would have known that this type of leafleting is neither appropriate nor effective.
Is the Conservative group short of volunteers these days?
A couple more Tory candidates own goals featured in the links below. Would you trust either of these muppets with your vote? Although let’s face it – there are still some of these out there.
Here at the Waverley Web, we have been an admirer of Paul Follows since he first arrived on the scene at Waverley Towers. And the answer is NO – if you believe it is because he is a Liberal Democrat. the truth is far simpler.
It is because he tells it as it is, warts and all.
He communicates directly with the public. Not through a laboriously long-winded and slow communications machine – where the language is couched in ‘council speak’ and where misuse of words blunts the edge of the message.
Paul Follows is not on a “direction of travel’ or ‘engaged in a piece of work.’ He is making a plan and doing the job – and telling everyone in the process – including the Waverley Web. The same Waverley Web that is loathed by the Conservative Group who believed in doing things behind our backs – making decisions in Group Meetings – which we understand is still in Committee Room 1 – a domain normally reserved for the ruling group, not the largest group? The same group that failed consistently to deliver a robust Local Plan, and which for years ignored the largest brownfield site in the borough! Which has now dumped us in a developers hole!
On 6 May the party’s stranglehold at Surrey could end, as it has in Waverley and other councils across the county. Tories currently hold 61 of the 81 seats.
That the dream team the Lib Dems have come up with will make a massive difference at County Towers – we are in no doubt. Particularly when Cllr Mark Merryweather joins the county fray. We Bet Fred, or anyone else, that once in the hot seat ‘MM’ will be trawling through Surrey’s accounts and going through them with a fine-tooth comb. He might not only discover WHY Surrey wants to take over the 11 boroughs & district councils but actually tell us what fine mess it is really in?
Here’s his message from a brave man who made it before the hairdressers opened
Despite everything that has gone on over the past year, we are having County Council elections in Surrey on 6th May.
So this has given a new boy on the block Toby, a Digital Assessment Officer at the University of Surrey, an opportunity to throw his hat into the ring for the Godalming North seat on behalf of the Labour Party.
Here’s Toby Westcott-White’s message:
I’m proud to be running as the Labour candidate in Godalming North, which encompasses Godalming town centre, Farncombe, Binscombe and Charterhouse.
I moved to the Godalming town centre almost four years ago just after graduating from university. I grew up in Haslemere and currently work in Guildford and tend to spend most of my free time exploring our wonderful countryside on foot and on a bicycle.
Why am I running for Surrey County Council?
I do not believe the people of Godalming are getting the investment they deserve from the Conservative-dominated council.
The Tories have controlled the County Council for nearly all my life and they have been ruthless in their cuts to our public services. We can clearly see that roads are poorly maintained, cycle paths are rare and our fire services, which keep us all safe, are being cut. We need a county that has excellent transport links, world-standard education and outstanding public services – from which we all benefit.
If elected, I will be a radical voice to stand up for genuine investment in our public services.
This May, you can send a message that Surrey can and should be better. Let’s send this message by voting Labour.
Toby Westcott-White Labour Party Candidate for Godalming North
But of course, you’re free to vote in person if you’d prefer it!
A further message from Waverley’s Labour Councillor and former Labour MP Nick Palmer.
Surrey is dominated by the Conservatives, who hold 61 of the 81 seats. But – and here I’m being party political, of course – Labour is putting up a serious challenge this time, with candidates in every division and an impressive range of energetic young talent to take on the tired and complacent Council leadership.
I’d urge you to vote for whichever party and candidates actually impress you most when you compare their literature. Labour’s Godalming candidates are Toby Westcott-White in the North and Zahoor Zahida in the South.
Voting Labour also sends a signal to the Government not to be too complacent – when even their Surrey bastion starts to swing, they WILL take notice.
The LibDems always use each election to ask for tactical votes from Labour voters “just this once” and then at the next election cynically use that as an argument to do it again (“see how weak Labour was last time, so vote for us”).
Labour is in practice the only credible alternative to the Conservatives nationally – nobody really thinks that Ed Davey might be the next Prime Minister, but Keir Starmer might well be.
It’s important to show that Britain isn’t as divided as people say and Surrey voters are interested in a credible alternative as well. I hope I contribute usefully to local politics – if you vote Labour, you’re voting for a fresh wind at the County level too!
