Hopefully you won't have failed to notice that the whole of Europe is going to the polls on Thursday 22 May, and in most of the UK ( I believe) there are Local Council elections.
It's only 2 years since I was elected and although my agent (who was and is, utterly superb) made me work hard especially as it was the first time I'd stood for election, I didn't actually know how hard I'd have to work once I got elected.
So, I've already got my plate full so to speak,
- working hard at my day job, which as a debt caseworker is intense but I love it,
- working hard to be a wonderful wife to my longsuffering and brilliant husband and
- working hard to look after my 3 gorgeous girls, aged 6, 3 and 1, and
- working hard to keep up with casework for residents of the ward I represent,
- keeping up to date with reading reports and papers for committees, I'm on so that I can effectively represent all residents across the BMDC district etc etc
But then a colleague who is up for election asks if I'll be her agent. I ask what's involved and get told oh not much just signing the papers and filling in the election expenses forms at the end of the election. I think, well I'm not sure as I don't think I've got the time to commit to it etc but check with the guy who was my agent.
Just as an aside, this would have been the moment where I wish the guy who was my agent in 2012 had said "Well, while you were swanning around the ward, meeting residents and listening to their concerns, even though I made everything look effortless, I was working like a dog behind the scenes!"
That is what, for most of this campaign, I wished he'd said. But no, he's like yeah fine.
So, I go headlong into this thing, with helping to write the ward spring newsletter and worrying about how to afford getting it printed and delivered before the election expenses started (back at the beginning of April). We then have loads of letters to write, prepare and deliver for people who are postal voters. The election leaflet itself and out cards for posting through peoples doors if they're out when we call round.
I've got to be honest, it has been hard work and I've not spent a whole day with my family in weeks. We usually like to keep Saturdays as family days, aside from my Councillor surgeries and meetings and events in the ward that is.
But, yesterday, 2 days out from Polling Day itself, I think election fever took hold. I wished, we could have another few weeks of it as I finally feel like I've got into the flow and rhythm and almost know what I'm doing.
Tomorrow is polling day, and I've worked hard across a number of wards to ensure that the people of our brilliant Bradford District will continue to be served by Labour party councillors:
- who put serving their communities first,
- working hard to bring prosperity to our District in spite of savage cuts (1/3) to the budget we get from the Government),
- ensuring that we increase recycling to keep down costs of waste going to landfill, especially as landfill costs including tax continues to be raised by the Govt,
- working hard with Health colleagues to get debt advisors in doctors surgeries because of the impact of such things as bedroom tax and work capability and DLA assessments on residents,
- working hard to reduce health inequalities across the District,
- working to improve all schools across the District so that our children and young people can attend good and outstanding schools and get the very best start in life,
- investing in improving skills and delivering on the Get Bradford Working programme so that young people and long term unemployed can get the help and support they need to get into work,
And so much more. That's the trouble with lists, I'm bound to leave out a lot because there is so much work to do and so much work being done by hardworking Labour councillors.
So, in short, elections are hard work but I've only done it because I want the very best for the residents of this wonderful District where I was born, where I live and where I'm raising my family.
#VoteLabour
#UseYourVote
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