Thursday’s election day for the European elections and a Lambeth
council by-election in Princes Ward which covers Kennington and
Vauxhall. This is a seat the Lib Dems held for 16 years with
big majorities until voters ejected them in 2006. The Lib
Dems saw their support crash after they ran the council for four
disastrous years in alliance with the Tories. During that
time they put council tax up 40%, lost millions in fraud, slashed
frontline services, and saw one of their own councillors convicted
for public theft. Lib Dems in power is not a pretty
sight.
On Thursday the voters of Princes Ward will choose a new
councillor to fill a vacancy caused when the previous councillor
stood down after starting a young family. Labour’s
candidate is Mark Harrison. Mark lives locally in Kennington
and is a member of many local community organisations including his
estate’s tenant management organisation, the friends group of the
local park, and the Kennington Oval and Vauxhall Community
Forum. Mark’s well known for being a very hard-working
community campaigner.
I’ve spent a lot of time in recent weeks out campaigning for
Mark. We’ve been knocking on doors, talking to voters, and
delivering letters and leaflets in a bid to explain what Mark’s
standing for and why he’s the best choice for local people in this
election. You can read more about Mark on his own community
website at: www.se11.org.uk
It’s not an easy time to fight an election. The expenses
scandal at Westminster has tarnished all politicians as some MPs
from all parties are exposed for milking the expenses system that
they themselves set up. It’s a dreadful sight to see as
hard-working people find their trust in politics shattered thanks
to the selfish actions of a number of MPs. And yet the big
problems facing ordinary people haven’t gone away. People
want the best start for their kids. They want to feel safe in
their homes and local area. They want a decent home, a good
job, and the chance to get on in life. To make all of that
happen we still need politics. And we need good, hard working
people like Mark Harrison and many others I’ve met in local
politics to help restore people’s trust.
I hope Mark wins on Thursday. He deserves to. I hope
the national situation won’t damage his chances because he’s put up
a great fight. Fingers crossed, when the count takes place on
Friday there will be one more good, honest young politician elected
to help clean away the shame that some Westminster MPs have brought
on our system.
Steve discussing the issues with a local
voter
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