Thursday's Local Elections have been and gone. The results have been announced[ref:http://www.warrington.gov.uk/News/2008/May/elections.aspx#0] and I've been looking at those results - particularly those in Fairfield and Howley (my own ward) and Bewsey and Whitecross (other ward with a BNP candidate).

Fairfield and Howley

Bewsey and Whitecross

In both Warrington wards, the BNP polled above the 5% necessary for a seat in Europe in next years elections. Couple this with a fairly consistant 9-10% showing across St. Helens and I'm worried. I know that this is a not a fantastically representative sample of Warrington, never mind the whole of the Northwest. Currently, the BNP is imploding in its Northwest homelands but that can be fixed. This result (certainly in Howley) is the result of one leaflet. ONE leaflet. We need to step up the game if we want to avoid a BNP MEP next year.

Speaking now of election publicity. Once again we got pathetically small amounts of publicity. We got the BNP leaflet at the beginning of April, a Labour ward newsletter (not tied to the elections obviously) and a slip advertising our Labour candidate. This is not democracy in action. Where were the other parties competing? I want to see publicity for the other parties. I do. I don't like being treated like I don't matter because you're all so sure of a labour shoe-in. I find it offensive that you don't bother. This was not democracy - this was a crowning.

And finally, a quick word on Boris winning London Mayor. I'm sorry for you London, but your sacrifice will show the rest of the country what a Tory administration could be like. Now if only we had an actual alternative. A party I could believe in. A party that stood a chance of getting a reasonable result. A system that allowed a better result.

Alex
x x