Power to the Addlestonians! (Part Deux)

Congratulations to newly elected councillor for Addlestone, convicted drink-driver John Raymond Furey

As a bringer of news, a purveyor of up-to-date and highly localised information, an invaluable resource at the forefront of Addlestonian current affairs, I view it as an integral part of my role to make the events I depict and your experience as readers as stimulating as they can be. One way to achieve this is by creating a sense of suspense, or waiting over four months to follow up on a blog post.

Cast your minds back to the summerlike days of early May when people far and wide were called on to vote in the English local elections. Perhaps it was the sweltering heat on polling day that caused 74% of Addlestonians to forget there were local elections taking place, but if there's one thing Surrey County Council can't control it's the weather, so we might as well have enjoyed it while we could. As it happened we had ample opportunities to roast ourselves Addlestonian-red from July onwards, but those days are rapidly becoming distant memories now that Autumn is setting in and temperatures are plummeting mercilessly. On the upside, the maggots in my wheelie bin are finally dying.

So if you missed it, and the figures say you probably did, you might be interested to know that the 26% of us who tottered down to the ballot boxes on 3rd May 2013 voted as follows:

2009 comparison 
(County and EU):

Con 51%, 

Ukip 22%, 

Lib Dems 14%, 

Labour and Co-Operative Party 10%, 
Equal Parenting Alliance 2%

(Turnout: 35%)

This depicts a different state of affairs from the results of The Addlestonian's exit poll back in May, which at the time suggested the people of Addlestone would be represented by a Ukip/Monster Raving Loony Party coalition. This never quite materialised, but you'll have to take my word for it as the poll was never programmed to finish and is still open to votes, making it frankly pointless to look at now. Nonetheless, people still keep voting every now and again. Knock yourselves out.

As you can see, not all the parties taking part in the 2009 County elections fancied a piece of the action last May, but those who did experienced the same setbacks and gains as reflected in most other parts of Surrey. Last year I partly attributed Ukip's 2009 result to the European elections taking place on the same day, however they and Labour saw a further increase in support this year, explaining where the Monster Raving Loony Party's votes went eventually. TMRLP's result still surged to a whopping 2% of Addlestone's vote though, achieving the same status as the Equal Parenting Alliance did four years ago.

Following the elections, The Addlestonian contacted each candidate asking them to enlighten their electorate (that's YOU noble folks) with their thoughts on the results. Surprisingly (or not), all but the coalition partners responded in varying levels of detail...

Labour

"The people are sending a message in this election showing that they are not happy with what is happening locally and nationally. However, they are showing it in different ways - voting for different parties. The Labour percentage share of the vote in Addlestone has doubled since the 2009 county elections but we still have a long way to go." 

- Arran Richard Neathey

Ukip

"UKIP is catching up on the Tories. Does this matter? What matters is the future of the country. Jobs. Getting rid of debt, both national and personal. Regaining prosperity and pride. I object to parties for whom staying in power is a top priority. The Lib Dem sign “winning here” implies a wish for power, rather than a wish to cure the country’s ills. Only UKIP has the policy to cure those ills. The public now accepts this. [...] UKIP scored around 25% in the County Council election. Even more worrying for the other parties, who wish to cling on to power, is the continuous rise in the UKIP vote. The other parties do not deserve to survive. Labour no longer stands up for jobs and wages. The Conservative party is not conserving the country, the countryside, or indeed anything much. The liberal democrats want to entrust our liberty and democracy to Brussels. UKIP will continue to rise unless the other parties change their policies dramatically."

- Toby Mickelthwaite

Official Monster Raving Loony Party

"HI, eye well write somethink up or down in the next few days"

- Keith David Collett

If, on the off chance, I ever receive that message then I'll be sure to post it here. I don't underestimate how challenging it must be for Mr. Collett to find the time in amongst the important work he does.

The next time The Addlestonian will be getting political will be in the European elections of 2014, unless of course an emergency referendum is called for independence for Addlestone before then. A man can dream.