Thank You For Voting

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me in both the Borough and Town Council elections.  I would like to congratulate Councillor David Whalley, our new Borough Councillor and the  five winning Town Councillors on their wins.

For me personally, it’s time to take a rest and take the opportunity to pursue my other interests.

This year has been a difficult one for Conservatives here in Southfield, and the poll result reflected dissatisfaction with the government in national terms.  It was an honour and a privilege to have been able to represent Southfield as a Town Councillor for the past three years and I would like to thank everyone who supported me during my time in office.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish those who now represent our area well as they embark on their term in office.

Today Is The Day To Vote For Change

Today is polling day in both the Borough and Town Council elections, and I urge you to think very carefully before you vote.  I ask you to think whether you really want to carry on with the same old Labour Party which has allowed Nelson to continue declining and done nothing to improve our town or take the opportunity to try a new positive and “can do” approach that is offered to the people of both Southfield and Nelson from the Conservatives.

Perpetual Labour representation has not done anything for Southfield, we have the same problems we had years ago.  Labour would not have frozen your council tax like the Conservatives have, instead they would carry on grabbing more and more of your money and transferring it to other areas of the town to benefit their own interests there.

Southfield and Southfielders need a fresh start, free of Labour’s outdated ideology.  Today is the day to vote for a new direction for Southfield, and I believe I offer that change our area so badly needs.

Labour’s Negative Message Sweeps Through Southfield

We’re now less than 48 hours away from this years’ local elections and the Labour Party are yet again proving they have nothing positive to offer the people of Southfield, the people of Nelson or indeed the people of Pendle.  Their members have been out delivering one of the most negative pieces of election literature I have ever seen.

Their claim that the Conservatives only offer “token candidates who have no idea what the job entails” is completely without foundation, and is frankly hysterical nonsense.   Quite where their quote that a Conservative Town Councillor allegedly said “I don’t care about Nelson” came from and having chaired the meeting in question, I can honestly say that I really don’t know.   The reality is that Labour ought to be explaining why Nelson has never actually moved forward in social or economic terms whilst they’ve had control of the area committee.  The Labour leadership also need to explain to the people of this town why they have nothing to offer anyone other than more of the same and why their approach has merely led to the further decline of the town over the years.

What Nelson so desperately needs is a complete change from the tired old  failed socialist dogma of the past and new councillors who are prepared to take a different approach to dealing with the serious problems we face as a community.  Voting Labour and merely continuing with the same old leftist agenda that has failed our town and community is not the way forward for Nelson.  One has to draw parallels with Horsfield and Boulsworth wards over in Colne, where good Conservative councillors speak up for their local residents and ensure that pressing local issues are properly resolved.

Throughout this years’ campaign, the Conservative message has been consistent, constructive, imaginative, positive and has offered real optimism that by dispensing with the old and ushering in new councillors of a different persuasion and with a real sense of belief that our town can be changed for the better with more than a bit of positive thought.

I’m The Only Genuinely Local Candidate And My Town Council Attendance Record Speaks For Itself

One thing has become abundantly clear about this year’s borough council elections in Southfield and that is that I’m the only local resident on the ballot, not a single other candidate is a Southfield resident.  I’ve lived in Southfield all of my life and have never moved away for any reason whatsoever, I’m 100% committed to our part of Nelson and have never, nor will ever put personal or political ambition or motivation before the needs of our area and its residents.

I have been a Southfield Town Councillor for the last three years and have chaired the Finance and General Purposes Committee.  During the three years I’ve been a Town Councillor, I have only missed three meetings and those were unavoidable owing to holiday commitments.  My time as Chairman of Finance has been one where small grant applications have been heard and either granted or refused.  I have supported applications which I felt were in the interest of the town as a whole and opposed those which I felt did not.  I am generally regarded as one of the most reliable and punctual members of the Town Council and am known for taking an evaluative and common sense approach to council business and the management of council tax payers’ money.

Leave The Outdoor Market Where It Is

I read the front page of today’s Nelson Leader with considerable annoyance.  I am annoyed that officials at the borough council have decided to advise that the outdoor market should be moved away from the town centre to land adjacent to the swimming pool and leisure centre, the site of the former Palace Theatre.

My own view is that the outdoor market should remain where it is in what is after all called Market Street.  I have a feeling that the council officers really want to move the market because they ultimately don’t want it outside the town hall, and this business of allegedly “protecting the flagstones” is really a smokescreen to get what they want.

I just hope that when the area committee meets to make a decision, Nelson’s borough councillors would be brave and bold in rejecting the advice of the secretariat and vote to keep the outdoor market where it is now, right in the heart of the town and where it should be.  One thing  I know for sure is that should the need arise,  I would be quite prepared to vote against the establishment view and take a common sense approach to doing things.