CITY OF PRESTON LABOUR PARTY

I had expected to wrap up this blog before now, but a quick surf on the internet reveals a fascinating anomaly in relation to our by-election victory in Riversway.  It would appear that the local Preston Lib Dems are making absolutely no reference whatsoever to the Riversway By-Election result, almost as if it never happened.

I realise it must be a sore point, but they could at least approach the result with some dignity instead of simply trying to pretend that it never happened.

As it is, the result is plain and simple - we won.  That's all for this blog now.  It has been a pleasure to write and it has been an exciting camapign to have been part of.  Thank you for reading.

Stop the world – Labour won in Riversway.  A remarkable day truth be told that saw a massive turnout for Labour and a complete collapse of the Lib Dem vote. More than that though, the result has re-energised the Labour Party in Preston.  The commitment of members and volunteers, some of whom came from outside Lancashire to help, was as impressive as the huge vote for Labour.

There’s also a sense of justice being done; this was never a seat that we should have lost. Bad enough was the decision of the electoral commission to prevent us using the Labour Party logo, but the behaviour and attitude of the Liberal Democrats made the result in May even harder to stomach.

This by-election has shown that people are turning against the Lib Dems in large numbers and rejecting their wild and distorted claims.  Other by-election results in the country on the same day showed a similar pattern.

In Preston, this result represents a disaster for the Tories and Lib Dems.  They did a deal to secure the seat and they still lost. Indeed, with national polling showing the Lib Dems more popular amongst Tory voters than their own, it is fortunate for the Lib Dems that they did a deal – their vote would have been even smaller of they hadn’t.

The Lib Dems struggled to paint any kind of coherent message in their literature or on the doorstep.  While Labour maintained a local campaign, highlighting past successes and future policy ideas, the Lib Dems appeared unable to highlight any local success.  After 3 years propping up the Tories at Preston Council, it is an indictment of the Lib Dems that they couldn’t name one single achievement from those 3 years.

It’s no better for the Tories either – they have once again been exposed as holding their voters in contempt and taking them for granted.

It is certainly a happier and energised Labour Party at the moment in Preston; whether this will mean making a move for the administration in Preston is not something I can comment on.  My former council colleagues will have to decide on that.  There is plenty else to think about at this stage though before we get to that stage.  For now, those of us in Preston Labour Party will sit back and savour the victory.

Thank you Riversway – you made the right choice.

It's finally here.  To tell you the truth, the time has flown by and I've had a lot of fun.  Yet the serious business is about to happen, and all the positive experiences before will count for nothing if we don't win on polling day.

I had considered writing a much sharper piece exposing the considerable differences between Preston Labour and the Liberal Democrats, but events have a way of overtaking you.

As we gathered for a final push tonight we were thwarted by the large amounts of rain that seemed to descend upon Preston this evening.  We seemed to be somewhat taunted by the weather as the sky seemed quite clear a couple of miles to the west.

While heading home we faced with a forceful reminder of one of the more serious issues that have cropped up in Riversway ward in the last few years - flooding.  The roads seemed completely swamped, and while the monsoon like rain was thankfully brief I have to say that I concerned about some areas of the ward that have been prone to flooding after such rainfalls.  I sincerely hope that flooding was limited just to roads and not properties.

This issue has meant a lot to me, not least because of the sheer effort required just to get it on the Council agenda. As local Labour councillors we pushed hard to get Preston Council to take some leadership on the issue; the Tories and Liberal Democrats voted against our proposals.  They even claimed that by raising the issue of flooding, we had made action the council LESS likely to happen.

At this moment, there is work being undertaking to alleviate the very flooding that we were concerned about  - flooding from poor drainage.  This will take some time to complete on Strand Road, but will hopefully resolve the problem for good.  I won't say if there is a connection between that work and the campaign that we organised on the issue.  I'll just say that we were the only party in Preston to campaign on the issue and that the Tories and Lib Dems tried to stop us.

I couldn't ask for a better example of the sheer irresponsibility of the Liberal Democrats and Tories, as a comparison to the commitment to a truly local agenda that Preston Labour tries to pursue. I hope people will see the truth in it and deliver a Labour Councillor on the day - I'm not sure that Preston could survive the ramifications of a Lib Dem victory at a time like this.

Now where did all the time fly? We're almost there with just one more day of campaigning.  Of course, a large number of people have already voted as postal balots have begun to come in.

The feeling amongst Labour activists is one of cautious optimism - we've had such a positive response on the doorstep, but it cannot be overstated that the Lib Dem deal with the Tories may make this race much closer than perhaps it should be. So we're taking nothing for granted.

We know that we've got the right candidate for the job.  Linda Crompton has continuingly shown herself to be an excellent local councillor in the past and, hopefully, will be one for the future.

The support from party members has been nothing short of superb, and it appears that national events are spurring them on even more.  Between the unfair VAT rise, the hatchet job that Nick Clegg has performed over voting reform, and the recent virtual privatisation plans for the NHS, there's plenty to get Labour members keen to make a stand.And that's to say nothing of the local disaster that has been the Tory/Lib Dem coalition in Preston Council.

So one final day of campaigning and then it's all go for election day.

So we're into the final leg of this by-election and still we're able to find more and more supporters for Labour.  What's more telling is how people's faces change when you mention Linda Crompton's name - you're left in no doubt as to where their support lies.  It's quite astounding how many people are committing to supporting Linda.

Obviously, I'd like everyone to be a passionate Labour supporter, but I think that a good, strong, well respected candidate provides the perfect medium for them to do that.  Maybe that's what's changing about politics; the simple ideological support is beginning to fade, but put in terms of specific issues, policies, or a person, and it allows people the opportunity to articulate their feelings.

That's not to say that people have stopped supporting Labour values - on the contrary I think most people are very much in tune with them - but rather that we can't take for granted that they will simply vote Labour solely on principle every time; it means we have to work harder to earn their trust and their vote.  Personally, I think that makes us a better and stronger party.

We've fought this campaign strongly on the challenge to support council services, and to stop the unfair and disproportionate charge increases imposed by the Tories and the Lib Dems.

We've fought on local interests and issues.  Linda Crompton has lived and worked in Riversway for over 30 years; the Lib Dem candidate doesn't even live in the Preston Council area - who do you think will best represent local interests? 

The Lib Dems have shown that they can't be trusted on council services - on every big vote they've supported the Tories in raising charges, and redirecting services towards areas that are more pro-Tory (i.e. northern and rural areas).  What is the point in electing a Lib Dem councillor that won't even vote in favour of better services for their own supporters?

The message seems to be getting through on the doorstep, but polling day will be the final judge.

Bit of a quick session of campaigning tonight, due largely to the weight of numbers of volunteers that turned up to help.  While it is great to see so many people come out to help, it can also cause some slight concern; you feel like you should keep going, especially when you finish early. It's as though you feel like you missed something.

In one respect though, I was pleased that we finished early.  Just as we wrapped up our efforts for the evening the rain began to come down quite heavily.  Perfect timing really.

Environmental issues seem to be the topic of the moment; in that respect I'm quite confident we can make a case that none of our opponents can. 

If one considers issues like flooding, the barrage, Riverworks and waste collection; Preston Labour's been at the head of it.  While I have little hesitation in promoting my own efforts in these areas (I'm not really a modest person - take responsibility for your actions, good or bad), it would be foolish to disregard the efforts of the other councillors.  I'd also have to admit that individual campaigners, especially the likes of Save the Ribble, have played a central role as well.

Indeed, that's what I've liked about campaigning on these issues in Riversway; they've always been community led.  For example, Preston Labour organised a consultation regarding Riverworks (off our own bat I would add; no council backing), allowing residents to respond.  We arranged a public meeting about flooding - over one hundred residents attended.  The day after we organised a public meeting about the barrage - in which the Tory leader Ken Hudson told attendees why the barrage would be so vital - the Tory led Preston City Council announced that there would be no barrage.

The Tories and Lib Dems have been merely spectators at best, direct hindrance at worst. Other parties, and this includes the Greens, have been notable by their complete absence. That's not to say that we've done everything on the environment (there's still plenty of work to do), but we have led from the front. Quite frankly, none of our opponents come close.