Labour bucks the trend in Hastings elections
In a disastrous night for the Labour Party across the country the Labour Party in Hastings returned all four local Labour County Councillors to County Hall in Thursday's election and narrowly failed, by just 38 votes, to hold the Baird/Ore division where newcomer councillor Kim Forward was the Labour candidate.
I want to thank everyone who came out and voted last week.
The most spectacular result of the evening was Councillor Godfrey Daniel's win in Braybrooke/Castle by a nearly 1,000 vote majority.
I acknowledge it has been a difficult time for the Labour Party but I want to praise my local Labour colleagues' hard work and enthusiasm which has bucked the trend in Hastings.
I appreciate that local elections do not reflect necessarily the outcome of a future General Election but it does give us confidence to know that the people of Hastings and Rye appreciate the energy and enthusiasm of Labour's elected representatives and I know many who have had reservations about certain aspects of Government policy are still backing Labour because of what we do locally. With a General Election just under a year away and with the probability of the Borough Council elections on the same day it is all to play for.
What I know is that a Labour Government supported by good local Labour councillors has served Hastings well over the past 12 years and I think that many local residents now appreciate that difference from what went before. It still terrifies me to believe that the Tories could win in a national poll and what that would do to our local community.
I also want to applaud the voters of Hastings for rejecting the BNP. Over past years the major parties have refused to deal with the BNP or offer them a platform for debate. I now wonder whether that policy needs to change: they have undoubtedly made electoral inroads by making their message ambiguous – suggesting they are merely about controlling immigration or realigning our relationship with Europe. That is not what they are about – the BNP are fascists. If you want to know everything you need to know about the BNP just ask yourself this question: why won't the BNP let black people join?
On a slightly related (if opposite) note I also want to mention the fact that I have this week, as part of the reshuffle, been made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equality. I've always made clear that the most important job I do is that of MP for Hastings and Rye and I have also made clear I would not be interested in a role that conflicted with that priority. As Minister for Equalities I see my role as complementing the needs of my constituents in Hastings and Rye. I'm still getting to grips with the role but I hope I can really help address many of the pressing issues of ageism and gender inequality that remain despite the progress of the last 12 years.
Returning briefly to the elections what I fear at the moment in British politics is that it has become all about personalities- the media love it, but of course what really matters is delivery and the principles of achieving a fair and just society. I can promise that both myself and local Labour Councillors will continue to work as hard as we can for the people of Hastings and Rye.
To keep up to date on what I'm doing stop by my website http://www.michaelfoster.org.uk/ .
You can also receive a monthly update on my activities by sending an email to mp@1066.net with 'MPFree' in the subject line.
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
