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Author Topic: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?  (Read 13907 times)

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CllrGeoffAbell

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #20 on: December 19, 2017, 12:10:01 PM »
And in case you missed this, Marple Area Cmte has its own web pages too - the first Stockport ward council to do so.  Planning decision, road works and more at:

http://www.stockport.gov.uk/mac

CllrGeoffAbell

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2017, 12:05:43 PM »
With a complete slate of new candidates, the one thing we do know is that we will get two new councillors in the Marples.

At the local level, party influence is much less, I would hazard, so the ideas, drive and sheer hard work come into it a lot more.  It was mentioned on this thread that a councillor was picking up leaves.  Good!  As I walk down a street, I see things differently as a councillor - blocked drains, broken lights, bad line-of-sight at T-junctions, bad parking, etc.

By the nature of the job, MPs spend a lot of time at Westminster.

Councillors do not spend a lot of time at the Town Hall.  It's more improving residents’ life, the place of Marple and its surrounding villages, and only then the strategy to implement that.

And @admin noted more cross-party talking at Area Committee.  Perhaps these pages may help in making up voters’ minds up as to who is most imaginative, articulate and listens.  And obviously who picks up the most leaves.

Finally, thank you Marple for electing me in the first place.  The job is like no other.  It can open doors and there is a real buzz about helping others.  My part in keeping the 394 bus was part of that.  What we need now (amongst other things) is to revitalise the area around Stockport Road (one of the Neighbourhood Plan's goals), get more cycle lanes off main roads, a new community hub on Marple Station and maybe even a rail link to Stockport.  (As you can see, I do like my transport!)
And of course prevent the inappropriate over-development of High Lane.

admin

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2017, 09:57:33 AM »
Labour Candidate for Marple North Chris Gleeson has recently posted an introduction about himself in this thread:

Chris Gleeson: Labour Candidate for Marple North
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

Steve Gribbon

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #17 on: December 14, 2017, 06:25:39 PM »
Dave

Thanks very much for your comments, they are very much appreciated. No problem at all with the previous message, and I do hope my reply helped Simone get to know me and my thinking a little better!

All the best for Christmas

Steve.

Dave

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #16 on: December 14, 2017, 04:50:57 PM »
Good evening Simone (or is it Simon E?, forgive me for any incorrect name attempt)

I'm the fireman you've not heard of before which is fair comment, and the reason why I have introduced myself on this site. I see you have a broad range of criticisms for our area and for local politics. As I said on my introductory page I won't get involved in negative comments for reasons I have stated, but I am more than happy to speak to you should you wish, or can meet you to discuss your concerns.

We must agree to disagree in that I feel Marple is a fantastic place to live, perhaps we can be in communication to see where things can improve? The offer is genuinely there for you, I am all for people speaking with passion.

Kind regards and best wishes over Christmas

Steve Gribbon.

Steve, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on being selected as the LibDem candidate for Marple North.   

And further congratulations on your patient and diplomatic response to the un-called for reference to
Some fireman we've never heard of, or a woman called Yvonne.

That is uncharacteristic of Simone, who is normally so polite and sensible, that I wonder whether her account has been hacked?

No matter - it's good to see candidates making good use of the forum, and especially when it's done in such a positive and friendly way. 

admin

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #15 on: December 14, 2017, 01:07:07 PM »
So, back to the main topic of who is standing as councillor in 2018.

Last night Cllr Sue Ingham confirmed it was OK to tell people that she is not standing for election again next year in her current role of Councillor for Marple South and High Lane. Sue has been representing the Ward for the last 12 years and during that time I've been pleased to work closely with her on a number of projects and initiatives. In particular, the campaign to get a camera installed in Memorial Park to combat ASB in and around the Bowling Green area. Sue has always been supportive of Friends of the Park and very easy to talk to and helpful about local matters. I wish Sue all the best in her retirement from the role and hope she enjoys all the extra spare time!

Standing in Sue's place as LibDem candidate for Marple South and High Lane is Colin MacAlister, who was within 23 votes of winner Tom Dowse in 2016.

Also not standing again is Cllr Geoff Abell. Geoff has stood for a single term of 4 years and will step down from his role as Councillor for Marple North in May. Steve Gribbon, who has already introduced himself on the forum, will stand in his place. Geoff has been very helpful to Friends of the Park during his term and has also been a regular contributor to the forum, which of course is a big positive from my perspective too.
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

andrewbowden

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2017, 01:05:00 PM »
My emphasis of Simone's comment in bold. What an utterly ridiculous thing to say. Should these "strangers" be assessed by the local NIMBY committee before granting them a Marple visa? What criteria are you using for judging the qualities of the "good" people? Can I see the list, please? I want to make sure I can continue living here.

As I only moved into the area in the summer of 2016, I'm now also quite concerned about my status in this town.

Steve Gribbon

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2017, 12:46:41 PM »
Hello Condate. I appreciate your comments on how people can vote and who can get in, but from a personal perspective I want to be a Councillor as quite simply I want to help the area to the best of my ability, and regardless of which party I am with I have the common sense to make decisions based on what I believe to be correct and what will benefit our community the most. Yes I am with the Lib Dems but I also believe they have done sound work in the past and at present, but this does not stop me from forming my own opinions. I am happy discuss further should you wish.

SimoneSaffron- I am sending a message to your inbox with an invitation to meet in the New Year, I hope you accept. 

Kind regards

Steve Gribbon

Condate

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2017, 12:01:39 PM »
Part of the problem (as I've mentioned before) is that far too many voters vote purely for a party label, regardless of the quality or otherwise of the candidate and regardless of whether their reasons for supporting a party are actually relevant to the local situation. This sometimes means good candidates lose for reasons quite unconnected with how they have served, or would serve. Of course, good councillors can and do get elected too, but often for the wrong reason; i.e. because of their party label rather than their qualities and ability to serve the area well.


simonesaffron

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2017, 11:56:12 AM »
Sorry,

One point I forgot to make before I sign off for this year.

You mention the Independent Candidate last year and you dismiss the candidacy by saying ...' but we can see how well that went without the party support in the results below.'

Again your comment is symptomatic of the cross-party politics, we find ourselves in, in Marple. The fact that he didn't win is dismissed by you. However Many would say that he gave at least 315 members of the local electorate the opportunity to vote for an independent candidate, which they did.   

simonesaffron

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2017, 11:32:27 AM »
I think that you might be adding your old/new email addresses to your /forum personnas and getting your identities a bit mixed up there admin, but it doesn't matter. With respect, I don't make postings because they 'sit much better' with individuals. 

Although I am a little surprised and disappointed about the suggestion regarding anonymity coming from the moderator.

Anyway, none of it matters to the points that I am making.

As far as other candidates are concerned, I am sure I WON'T be able to tell you who is standing. Your observations about the Area Committee both past are most relevant and again are only supportive (in a different way) of the party political scene wherein which we suffer. Which really is the point that I make.     

admin

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2017, 10:17:01 AM »
Unless an independent candidate presents between now and next May, I for one, won't be voting.

I think it's a shame that you make your comments anonymously "Simone". They would sit much better with me personally if you made it clear who you are.

Last time out Kevin Dowling was an independant with a track record as a LibDem councillor but we can see how well that went without the party support in the results below. Is Kevin standing again? I'm sure you will be able to tell us.

I was walking down Station Road last week and I saw a local councillor ( I won't name him)physically sweeping leaves up. Is that the most productive use of a local councillor's time?       

I'm pretty sure I know which councillor you are critising as he regularly joins Friends of Memorial Park Task Days, and the task days of many other volunteer groups in his Ward. He encourages and supports these groups in many other ways too and this is extremely benefical to Marple. I see this as a huge positive, not a negative at all - he's not just out on his own sweeping leaves he's engaging with volunteers in the community, which is what I expect a councillor to do.

I can't speak about politics at the Town Hall but I watch closely what goes on in Marple.

For a very long time Marple Area Committee was made up of concillors from a single party, which made them very strong together, as they always pulled in the same direction and rarely disagreed publicly. At the time I thought this was a good thing. However, I believe a good councillor should be able to set party politics aside when necessary and work well with others of different colours. Afterall, what any local councillor should want is simply the best for the area and the residents that they represent. I'm a regular attendee at Marple Area Committee - I dislike it very much when it's "LimDems this", "Conservatives that" but I've seen the current group of councillors move from an uneasy alliance to begin working much better together and usually showing each other respect. I now think that the balance that we've currently got could actually be better than being dominated by one party.

My vote will go to whoever I think is going to do their best for Marple, regardless of which party they represent, or indeed if they are Independent.


Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

simonesaffron

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2017, 09:43:00 AM »
I watched PM'sQT on television yesterday. A lot of it was ostensibly about homelessness and was started off by Jeremy asking Theresa a question about 'homeless people.' Very quickly it degenerated into a slanging match between the two of them. Both of them in turn repeatedly jumped to his/her feet and asserted that if you were a homeless person you were better off with Conservatives than you were with Labour. I don't think that the homeless person really felt the difference. They were still homeless. Anyway, they quickly became party political fodder and were rapidly lost in the main subject, which was, trading  various cross-party insults.

This now translates to local politics, all over the country, where councils are paralysed because of these cross-party politics. Once you become a local Councillor, any independent thought you had is absorbed into the party machine. Stockport is no different and neither is Marple.

 If you look through the webcast of SMBC council meetings (not recommended as entertainment) you will be unable to find one single motion, whereupon even one solitary councillor, upon just one isolated occasion, has voted against his/her party. As well as this, candidates need the various party machines behind them in order to win elections.

In Marple If you are going to vote for the same-ole Lib-dem/Conservative, then that's what you are going to get, same-ole stuff. 

I must add here, the party itself doesn't matter. Conservative, Labour, Libdem; It's all the same.

Howard

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2017, 08:38:07 AM »
Unless an independent candidate presents between now and next May, I for one, won't be voting. Thankfully, I spend a lot of time abroad these days but whenever I return to Marple, I see the same old thing: More traffic, more ill- thought-out houses, more air pollution, more blocked drains, more dog fouling, more strangers moving in, more good people moving out. What exactly do local councillors do these days?   

My emphasis of Simone's comment in bold. What an utterly ridiculous thing to say. Should these "strangers" be assessed by the local NIMBY committee before granting them a Marple visa? What criteria are you using for judging the qualities of the "good" people? Can I see the list, please? I want to make sure I can continue living here.

Condate

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Re: Who are the Candidates for Local Councillor in May 2018?
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2017, 08:21:39 AM »
I certainly agree that we need candidates who are not involved in party politics. That's not to say that a party candidate can't make a good councillor, but it would be better for local government if councillors were not also party politicians.