By-Election Result

F

fmttmadmin

Administrator
Staff member
BERWICK HILLS & PALLISTER WARD BY-ELECTION RESULT

Results in the Berwick Hills & Pallister by-election held on Thursday, June 30, 2022:



Ian Blades Labour 361 Elected

John Cooper Conservative 53

Sophie Drumm Liberal Democrats 11

Annette Dawn Fermin Green Party 7

Steven James Independent 204





Rejected ballot papers: 3



Electorate: 5,774



Turn-out: 11.067%



The poll was called following the resignation of Councillor Lee Garvey.

I posted this because the winning candidate has posted on this site for many years - so congratulations to him.
 
Jedi boro said:
11% is tragic though isn’t it.

If the current climate isn’t enough to to rouse you from this apathy then what will
Click to expand...
Maybe the root cause is a feeling of impotence and complete disengagement with the democratic process. Why should I vote when nothing changes? It is a direct consequence of individuals adhering to to the policies set by the party they represent.
 
fmttmadmin said:
If that is the case why didn't people vote Independent or Green?
Click to expand...
That’s a fair question. I think the answer is that we are conditioned (certainly here in the NE) to think of only Labour or Tory. The real question is how do we show people that voting at a local council or even parish council level is important and can make a difference? Firstly by understanding how much authority parish/local/district councils have, particularly relating to local issue such as licensing (problem pubs) and planning. However, we know people are busy and often exhausted after work, so it will always be an uphill battle. I’ve only become active after retirement.
 
The Ruthsayer said:
Maybe the root cause is a feeling of impotence and complete disengagement with the democratic process. Why should I vote when nothing changes? It is a direct consequence of individuals adhering to to the policies set by the party they represent.
Click to expand...

National Local council elections have generally averaged around 30% turn out, by-elections average lower still.

The answer is political engagement, the vast majority of people simply do not engage in politics outside of General Elections which dramatically decreases the pool of voters for something like a local council by-election.
 
You’d imagine people living in deprived areas would have more reason to vote. Of course, lack of education is a monumental factor. There is no opportunity to study politics at GCSE (happy to be corrected). I studied it at A Level and combined with a superb professor, it completely shaped my perception of society. More bullshyt neoliberal policy of providing a type of mandatory education to ensure the wheels of industry never stop turning but stopping short of allowing the masses to make informed choices.
 
Congratulations to our fellow FMTTMer for getting the role. Wish you best (y).

That's got to be a tough role with such apathy in regards to turnout. I have a part time role working as a polling inspector at elections and even at poorly attended events I see 27-35% turn out. You can start to see why small sound bites might be appealing to those who are not engaged.
 
You'd be amazed the amount of people who I have spoke to in the last 4/5 weeks who have said "Why should I care who gets in?" "I don't vote!" "If voting changes anything, it wouldn't be allowed"

Sad fact is my ward is one of the most deprived in the town and even the country, I see nothing that's coming up that will help change that. I want to at least see if I can change it a little from the "town" point of view because if the town isn't looking to address some of the problems by changing the way it works, why would a national government of any description change it's ways?

It's not going to be easy, but it won't be for the want of trying, looking after a ward like this one is going to take a lot of work, and it's something that I am committed to.
 
TheLodger said:
You'd be amazed the amount of people who I have spoke to in the last 4/5 weeks who have said "Why should I care who gets in?" "I don't vote!" "If voting changes anything, it wouldn't be allowed"

Sad fact is my ward is one of the most deprived in the town and even the country, I see nothing that's coming up that will help change that. I want to at least see if I can change it a little from the "town" point of view because if the town isn't looking to address some of the problems by changing the way it works, why would a national government of any description change it's ways?

It's not going to be easy, but it won't be for the want of trying, looking after a ward like this one is going to take a lot of work, and it's something that I am committed to.
Click to expand...
You've got an incredibly difficult job to do mate but fair play to you. Like you said those constituents need the help more than any.

My background is in counter-terrorism work, but I head up a large team of staff that cover a range of crime, anti-social behaviour and Community Safety legislation and activity. If it would be of any use at all, I'd be happy to arrange a zoom call to give you a briefing on how you can quickly be applying pressure to the relevant services to ensure that any topics relating to the above are picked up quickly.

Just drop me a dm and I'll be happy to arrange something 👍🏻
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top