Yes, I know it's over a month away but the local election preparations have begun in Huddersfield, in fact they began a while back when we wrote the winter/spring leaflet of the NHS campaign (hopefully soon to be put on the socialist party website at the address below).
Anyway, today was spent leafletting, with the glossy leaflet we've produced (okay, it's not that glossy but we got it professionally printed), although at the weekend, the first canvass happened where we got a fair bit of support. This is as oppossed to the scam leaflet that has been put out around Crosland Moor & Netherton, where a doctored leaflet has been put out making the campaign seem communalist, and also, more humorously, spelling Dr. Jackie Grunsell wrong. We're not sure who has done this, but it means that this year the other parties are more likely to try and attack us than last. We've putting forward Ian Slattery, member of the campaign, president of the socialist student society at the uni and SP member as our candidate, who'll be standing against a Labour incumbent (whom many people around the ward have described as worse than useless) and the Liberal Democrat candidate who lost her seat last year, whilst fighting broke out between her supporters and those of last years Labour candidate.
After a few hours, we got on with going through the names of everyone who said they'd vote for us last year (the pledges) and started labelling envelopes ready for a pre-election letter to them. My hand is still hurting as a type right now, there was a hell of a lot of them (given we got over 2,000 votes last year you'd expect that). Our aim is to hold some public meetings where hopefully we can draw some of these people into the campaign and get them active. Either which way, we had a fairly productive day, and we're in with a shout of having the second Save Huddersfield NHS councillor elected in Huddersfield, a massive step forward for workers in the area (especially given the support we've given various campaigns as well as the NHS, such as the nurseries, Unique Care and the emergent anti-academies campaign).
For more info about the 2006 council election victory follow this link
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/elections/ElectionCampaignHuddersfield.htm
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5 comments:
Good luck with the election campaign comrade.
Why are candidates standing as Save Huddersfield NHS rather than as Socialist Alternative by the way?
This is because we built the campaign up and see it as a pre-formation that if it matured properly would be a part of a new workers party. There was also a former libdem councillor (who had left their party) who stood for the campaign as well as a UNISON steward (local gov). Although we stood as Save Hudds NHS, we pointed out Jackie was a socialist and member of the party.
Ah fair enough, that is a really good idea. I'm going to do a post on the CNWP soonish if I can be bothered.
I've just been looking at the text of your lefflets and I hope you've got the Urdu leaflet typed up.
either way good look, I take it Jackie's seat isn't being contested.
Now the Torys have jumped on the Save the NHS bandwagon are you haveing problems with people being taken in by them?
We haven't really got that much of a problem from the Tory's jumping on the bandwagon really, although some of the older campaigners initially were, they've done nothing concrete, and like all the other parties effectively supported the cuts in the first place. I think people realise we're only group seriously campaigning for the NHS, I think it's more out in the more rural areas (Huddersfield is the biggest town in Europe, i think) of the UK where the Tories might be doing better, particularly the south.
The seats are for four years, so Jackie's got another three years left and hopefully we'll get another NHS councillor (an SP member again). Unfortunately, the campaign uis only standing in one ward, but there are a lot of anti-cuts campaigns in another part of Huddersfield that still have time (although not much) to get together and stand a candidate)
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