Tomorrow – Thursday 1 May – is Election Day – Go Vote

Election Day – tomorrow – 1 May. We encourage you to go and cast your vote. Or we even go further than ‘encourage’ – we implore.

Wiltshire Council cost us all a great deal of money. In Council Tax (quite a few £,000 every year), Green Bins, parking charges, fixing damage to our cars from driving over potholes. And just enabling us to live our everyday lives. Who you vote for can help ensure that your interests – and the interests of everyone else in Marlborough East, West or Aldbourne & Ramsbury divisions are heard, listened to and recognised in Trowbridge. Your elected Wiltshire Councillor, will as from Friday afternoon (when the results are announced) be your voice in Trowbridge. They will be – or should be – Your Representative in Trowbridge. NOT – the Trowbridge Representative in Marlborough/Aldbourne/Ramsbury/Avebury……. It is for your councillor to make a noise that is heard – your noise – in the Council Chamber (and the many offices of executives and political leaders) in Trowbridge. They should be shouting.

It is not for us to say which candidate, in any Division that you should cast your vote for. In a Local Authority election as we are about to have tomorrow, it is the Councillor, the individual that should be attracting your vote. Political party? The Councillor should be representing you first and foremost, not their political colour or party at every turn. They are responsible to you.

That’s why we publish an ‘Election Special‘ guide. Details of who is standing, in which Division, (for which party) but importantly, why you should vote for them is set out below:

Aldbourne & Ramsbury:

Jackson, Ben	Liberal Democrats
O’Farrell, Charles Gerald	Green Party
Sheppard, James Henry	Local Conservatives
Stephenson, Aurelia Margaret Amherst	Reform UK

Marlborough East:

Cleasby, Kymee	Liberal Democrats
Goldson, Nicholas James	Reform UK
Thomas, Caroline	Local Conservatives

Marlborough West:

Baldock, Neil Michael	Reform UK
Davies, Jane Frances	Local Conservatives
Jamieson, Parvis	Liberal Democrats
Lang, Oliver James Alport	Labour Party

We did get responses from every candidate, other than those Reform UK candidates. Despite contacts with that party nationally and locally – nothing. Not for us to say, but it appears that Reform UK are running a ‘Presidential Style’ campaign. A National campaign, even more centralised than in a General Election – but for the representative for your street. So vote Reform UK candidate(?) – and you will get your own ‘little Farage’. Will he come and empty your full bin? Or fix those potholes? That would be interesting, as the electorate of his parliamentary constituency of Clacton have discovered, he’s never there…… So it would appear that Reform UK are running a ‘protest vote’ campaign, a negative, against every other candidate without giving real indications of what they can do for you.

But, in spite of the comments above re. Reform – go vote. And vote for who you feel will best represent you, and those in your street, and local division.

Wiltshire Council is extremely important to us all: Not only the massive amount (£,000s) of our incomes that we give them, the state of the roads (potholes…!), bins, recycling centre, street lighting, road safety (speed restrictions, Port Hill crossing etc.), traffic issues (big in Marlborough!). Our daily lives, they play a big role in what we face every day. So go and vote for someone who will SHOUT on your behalf…….