I received this today from Councillor Alasdair Ross, the Games Master at Ipswich School:
James
This local candidate issue does not stand up to scrutiny- I live in Rushmere and I am the Cllr for the ward- unlike Mrs Terry or Smith who both live outside the ward, but Mrs Smith is a great local Cllr, so are people that bothered? And before you keep going on about Cllr Smart – sort out your own party- Cllr Pope lives in East Ipswich but represents Stoke Park, I think you will find that is further way than Cllr’s Smart and Rudkin. even in Bixley the safest Tory seat, only one of the Cllr’s lives in the ward.
Well let’s ignore the fact that it was apparently Soo Smart, Mrs Philip Smart, who brought up the question.
The fight for Bridge will be within the ward, not in Bixley. Yes I do believe that local councillors are better. And that does put me at odds with many in my own party (not for the first time),
All politics is local. It is not about party. Party is important but one of Alasdair Ross’s (and Philip Smart’s) abiding failures is their inability to see that the party should come behind their duty to their constituents. A long way behind.
The party is simply a label. I believe in low council tax, economic growth, efficient services and strong families. The Conservative Party by and large believe in these things too, and so it is a good label for me. If I stand under the Conservative banner then people know where I’m coming from.
However, it is merely a label. What is most important is representing your patch. Although I don’t doubt that Philip Smart cares about Bridge, I don’t believe that he originally chose Bridge because of the links he had with the place. I’d love to be proven wrong. And as for Dame Bryony…
I simply think that a person is not as good a representative if they don’t live in the ward, shop in the ward and socialise in the ward. This is not some silly point of contrariness this is why I’ve refused to stand outside Bridge. I don’t mind another (local) candidate taking over – well I mind quite a lot, but I’ll accept it – but I will not stand where I don’t live. And yes, writing things like this paragraph does drive other Tories in the Association to the point of distraction.
I want to represent my patch and do what’s best for my neighbours. To me that is a far higher honour than being the youngest recorded mayor of the borough or the chairman of Ipswich Buses. I know that this does not “stand up to scrutiny” if your party is more important than your constituents. If your constituents are more important than your party, then what I said makes perfect sense.
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