Politicians around the country are off on the final sprint of the 2010 election campaign. Gordon Brown went to the Palace this morning and has now announced, as everyone anticipated, that 6 May is the date for the General Election. My husband seems to go have got into election mode - I threatened to paint Rosie on his back in this outfit!
Residents of Horsell West, and some other parts of Woking, will have two votes on 6 May. One for a new MP for Woking and one for a new local councillor for Horsell West. In both cases a 'new' face is guaranteed.
Humfrey Malins is standing down and the Liberal Democrat candidate Rosie Sharpley is in with the best chance the Lib Dems have ever had to replace him. Rosie is well known in the constituency. She's been a councillor in Goldsworth Park for 21 years, worked locally as a nurse and served as a magistrate in Surrey. As the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson she's worked hard for our area in the last three years.
Meanwhile over in the Tory stable, Mr Malins stood down just over a year ago but a new candidate was not selected until last October. I understand that 'local' candidates did put their names forward but a PR man from Blackheath, who had already tried to get selected in Lancashire and Maidstone (Anne Widdecombe's seat) was chosen to go up against Rosie.
Labour have gone for a young candidate, having been deserted by their original candidate who went off to try for a 'safe seat' in London.
UKIP are definitely in there as well. I don't know much about their candidate. He comments a lot on various online forums. I believe he lives in one of the huge blocks of flats by the station. I suppose that gives him a good 'overview' of much of Woking.
In Horsell West I am looking to replace Richard Sanderson, who is standing down after a massive 26 years on the Council. He is the longest serving councillor and dates from a period when there were just a handful of Liberals on Woking BC. Now the party is one seat behind the Conservatives.
Richard and I have spent much time talking to residents in the last year and looking into local issues. I want to return to the Council to provide a voice for residents who often seem to be forgotten by both Woking and Surrey. This tendency has been shown all to clearly in recent weeks when Surrey took it into their heads to put traffic posts along the sharp bend on Brewery Road. During my time on the Council I was pleased to be able to intervene and stop Woking BC putting in a bid for a Casino, without consulting residents. As a result of my intervention the Council was forced to consult, via a telephone survey, and the conclusive answer was "No" to a casino.
If you still need to register to vote you have until 20 April. You can also register to receive your vote by post or to get someone to vote on your behalf. Details for Woking residents can be found here.
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