As spring settles in and its effects
start to be felt throughout Addlestone - the longer days, the joyful chirping
of birds, the pollen-induced scratchy, leaking eyes and breathing difficulties - a sense of change and rebirth hang in the air, tying in neatly with the
county elections taking place across the country tomorrow (if change is what you
want, I must add in the name of easily perceivable neutrality).
It seems like only yesterday I sat
hunched over my laptop reflecting on the 2012 local elections which saw a measly 26%
of disaffected Addlestonians visit their polling stations to elect their Runnymede
councillor. A Conservative majority re-emerged despite a slight dip in support,
not to mention the Monster Raving Loony Party's phenomenal gains in Addlestone
North. Yes, they fielded their candidate wisely in Addlestone North.
This year, though, the mood among
Addlestonians could be quite different indeed if last year's by-election results in
neighbouring New Haw and Chertsey are anything to go by:
May 2012 --> September 2012
New Haw
Con 53% --> 51%
Lab 20% --> 22% ^
UKIP 16% --> 18% ^
Lib Dem - 11% --> 8%
Chertsey Meads
Con 50% --> 40%
UKIP 23% --> 28% ^
Lab 19% --> 28% ^
Lib Dem 8% --> 3%
OMRLP N/A --> 0.8% ^
The trend would suggest the coalition
parties are about to take a hit around Surrey with Labour and UKIP picking up the votes, even if the winning party remains the same. Although, now that Addlestone Bournesiders will have the chance to support Crazy Crab this year along with our northern Addlestonian friends, it's anybody's guess what the outcome might be. With
that in mind, let's have a look at the folks who will be vying to represent the Addlestone posse
tomorrow:
Crazy Crab, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Andrew Falconer, Lib Dems
John Furey, Conservatives
Toby Micklethwait, UKIP
Arran Neathey, Labour
How will YOU sway tomorrow, Addlestonians? Take part in the poll below to let us all know, and tweet @theaddlestonian!
