It’s Official. I’m the Lib Dem candidate for Westborough ward in Southend for the May elections.

It has been unofficial for a while but that all changed following two new pieces of information over the past few days. Last Thursday I had a interview with five local Lib Dems to decide whether or not I could be approved to run for Southend Council as a Lib Dem. I passed this interview. Then two days later whilst sitting on London Bridge platform I got an e-mail saying that I had been chosen to stand in Westborough for the forthcoming election.

It had been unofficial for a couple of months but now as they say it is all legit and we can get the wheels in motion.

First up has been the move of me to Lib Dem Focus editor for Westborough and the production of my first Focus. I wrote it last Sunday and after some feedback things were changed relatively dramatically and that Focus has gone to print. That should be done by the end of the week so delivery will start in earnest next week or possibly over the weekend. Here’s hoping that the weather holds.

Secondly has been my decision on how to campaign. I have made the unilateral decision to focus solely on what I can do and not on national issues or what the other parties say they want to do or in fact do. I can’t influence national policy on the NHS for instance but I can campaign to plant more trees in the ward or to get more PCSOs patrolling the ward. They are issues I can legitimately try to deliver.

I won’t be saying ‘don’t vote for x y or z because they suck’ because I don’t think that is the right way to do things. Call me naive but I detest negative politics. Scaring people into voting for you by saying the other person is worse than you. I think that puts people off politics. My plan is to inform people what I believe I can realistically do as a Councillor and if they think I sound like the type of guy they think will do a good job then that is great. If not then everyone is entitled to their opinion and if one of the other candidates is right for them then they should vote for that candidate.

I cannot promise the Earth. I cannot promise to change everything overnight. All I can say with any certainty is that I will listen to the thoughts and opinions of the electorate and try to get the small things changed for the better because if you get the small things sorted then the big issues will sort themselves.

Westborough as a ward and Southend as a place have two distinct and different set of problems. Being a Councillor will be about marrying the two to get the best for both sets of people. Whether it is regards to getting improvements in the long battle of parking in Westborough ward or sorting out what to do with the Cliffs. If elected I will try and make both the ward I represent and the town as a whole an even better and more prosperous place to live.

If you have any issues that you would like to contact me over with regards to Westborough then my contact details are in the right-hand navigation bar.

Have a good one folks.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Please leave any comments or contact me directly via the E-Mail Me link on the Right Hand Nav. You can stay in touch with the blog following me on Twitter or by liking the blog on Facebook. Please share this content via the Social Media links below if you think anyone else would enjoy reading.