I have decided that I will not be standing for election as a councillor in future. I stood in Mill Hill ward in 2010,2018 and 2022 and in Edgware in 2021. On each occasion, I gave it my best shot and would like to thank everyone who helped me and voted for me. There are a number of reasons for this. The first is that main reason that I got involved was because of the total mismanagement of Barnet Council by the former Conservative regime. Not only were we faced with terrible schemes, such as the One Barnet outsourcing scheme, illegal policies such as the CPZ charge hike, the closure of libraries and the mismanagement of meals on wheels contracts. We were also faced with a bunch of politicians, some of whom who were amongst the most disreputable in the whole country, including a former Mayor of Barnet who lost his place on the council after being convicted of assault by beating of a female cafe owner.
Last May, they were unceremoniously booted out and a Labour regime took over with a massive majority. Although I am not a Labour member and stood for the Lib Dems, of which I am still a member, the reasons for my standing have largely gone. The local Labour group appear to be working hard to sort out the mess. I stood in Edgware on a platform to save the Railway Hotel. The council has now committed to use a CPZ to purchase the building. Over the last six months, I've repeatedly been approached by local people in Mill Hill, asking me to assist with local issues, which our local Conservative councillors should be dealing with. As someone who is not a councillor and who's party has no seats on the council, I can do no more than they can. On each occasion, I ask if they voted for me at the last election. The answer is almost always "No, I would have but....". It is tiresome. Invariably the but is "I wanted to stop Labour/The Tories getting in". In 2010, we beleived the Lib Dems had a realistic change of election, as there had been Lib Dem councillors in Mill Hill 20 years. By the next election, the Lib Dems will not have had councillors for sixteen years and will have finished third at the last two elections.
I actually believe that they have a reasonable chance in Mill Hill. The local Tory councillors do not seem to be doing anything. We are likely to have had a Labour government for a couple of years and they will be suffering mid term blues. I don't see much liklihood that the Conservatives will have restored their reputation, so there is a great opportunity for a third party. But anyone seriously doing that will need to do an enormous amount of work and would need to start now. I have other things I want to do in my life, with my band, my businessmy family and with my health challenges. I have learned the hard way that local politics is a sideshow. If the national wind changes, years of hard work can get blown away in a night. That is why excellent Lib Dem councillors such as Jack Cohen lost their seats in 2018 as his local electors were spooked by Jeremy Corbyn.
I have no regrets at all about standing. It had to be done. In 2018, 2022, I knew we had little chance of winning, but had to make the case and make sure that the local Conservatives took the election seriously. I didn't mind canvassing, in fact I really enjoyed meeting people and chatting. It was always a pleasure. It was also great finding new nooks and crannies in Mill Hill and seeing how the road layouts have changed since the 1970's when I used to deliver papers (and in some case seeing how they've stayed the same).
The blog will continue. Who knows what the future holds, but I need to concentrate on the things in life I value and where I feel I should be putting my energy into.
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