For my Kirkburton ward Labour didn't even give a pledge to the local paper when asked and Green are the only party of the four that can beat Conservatives here. Hopefully it's good news in the next day or so about it. Villages in this area are turning in to concrete jungles with new housing ruining the countryside all over the place. Green I would think would try and put a stop to it more.
It’s the exact opposite in Headingley, I think the parties all have shares in printer ink. I’ve never seen so many placards for a local election, it’s actually a bit nuts. There’s been Labour, Lib Dems and Green with a table on the main street too. Not seen a single placard, leaflet or any sign of the Conservative candidate though. I only knew there was one because I checked for the full candidate list online.
The Liberal Democrats at least voted against regional tier restrictions, against the final set of restrictions and consistently (to deaf ears) demanded risk assessments and the publishing of scientific evidence to underpin lockdowns and when you combine that with their anti-Brexit stance, and the specific guy here has done a lot with local issues relating to traffic and road conditions, it's an easy decision for me today.
I've increasingly seen interviews with a central tenet of people having voted Labour, being dissatisfied with the Tory government, yet switching to Tory (I mean, it could be tory plants trying to sway opinion in another underhand way, but I don't think it sits that way) because Labour haven't changed anything. Granted, it's a little different at council level, but the government of the day are the ones with power and ability to change things. Even more so when it has a significant majority. Yet there is a worrying number who seem to blame an elected opposition MP for the woes of government choices despite having no or little power... and the even more worrying thing, they then think it wise to strengthen the government vote more, despite not being happy with their policies and the effect they have on their life. Quite incredible.
"My house is on fire but I'm not wholly confident in the fire service, so rather than call 999 I'm going to chuck petrol on it." The mind boggles.
There was a lot of that where I live in the lead up to the 2019 election. "What good has having a Labour MP done us?" was the general question. Yet, when Andy Burnham was our MP, and we had a Labour Government, the town saw a new health centre, college, rugby stadium, transport links into Manchester, improved retail outlets coming into the town and no doubt other less obvious benefits. Then nothing for 9 years as the Tories went down the route of austerity, then blaming said austerity on immigrants to they can get the Brexit vote. The town has fallen off a cliff, and I couldn't tell you a single thing that the Tory MP that was voted in in 2019 has done, apart from spout some populist nonsense about train stations. It was amazing how blind people were to the correlation.
You genuinely couldnt make this up - its not photoshopped taken in Queen's Crescent Community Association which was operating a food bank as normal and also as a polling station today