All 66 seats on Gateshead Council are up for election in May local elections, in place of the usual elections by thirds. Each of the 22 wards will therefore elect three councillors. The political parties will have to find three times the usual number of candidates. Even in normal years when only one councillor per ward is elected, finding 22 candidates can be something of a challenge. So finding 66 is something of a highly challenging Olympic sport!
We know Labour are now having serious difficulties finding victims, sorry I meant volunteers, to be candidates. In my ward of Whickham South and Sunniside, we usually have the pleasure of a Labour candidate who is being tested out to see if he or she can make a bit of a splash, get noticed, deliver 4000 leaflets and then get selected for a better seat the following year! This year is different.
Alec Geddes is now Labour candidate in my ward. Alec is currently the Mayor's consort and Councillor for Ryton. He's a lovely bloke who always asks me about how my Mam is doing. (Mam used to be a councillor but retired in 2012, so they both know each other). Alec however has made it plain to everyone that he is retiring as a councillor at the May elections. He has many years to his credit and has earned his retirement. He made it clear some time ago that his time as councillor comes to an end on 7th May.
But Labour has a candidate crisis. To solve this, they are selecting people who want to leave the council, not continue as councillors. That says a great deal about the state of the Labour party.
No comments:
Post a Comment