With the new Somerset Unitary Council election now set for May 5th, Labour eyes are turning to the red town of Bridgwater where the party runs the Town Council (which will be strengthened after Unitary) and provides the main opposition on Sedgemoor (which will be abolished after unitary). The Labour Party has now chosen its 8 candidates to fight the election in the 4 Bridgwater seats, North, South, East and West and the councillors are confident of all 8 being elected and Bridgwater having the strong voice on the new council that it needs to avoid being overlooked by the Feudal overlords in Taunton. Each of the old County Council wards will now return 2 Unitary councillors and while the boundaries stay the same the councillors have all had a bit of a reshuffle.
NORTH
Labour County Leader Leigh Redman will be standing alongside Sedgemoor Fairfax councillor Hilary Bruce in BRIDGWATER NORTH AND CENTRAL, comprising the wards of Eastover and Sydenham.
Leigh, who went to school in both, has been a County Councillor for 9 years and is keen to get started saying ” I look forward to fighting for residents of Bridgwater North & Central as their Councillor and to working alongside Hilary. It is clear that the local and national economy must be made to work for Bridgwater people first and foremost.”
SOUTH
Labour Town Council Leader and Deputy Leader Brian Smedley and Kathy Pearce have been selected for BRIDGWATER SOUTH, which contains their current Westover ward and their previous Hamp Ward. Brian and Kathy are also Leader and Deputy of the Sedgemoor District Labour opposition and have been elected together for over 20 years.
Brian says ““The Unitary system is not one that we wanted as it will be too remote from the people. However, by sending a strong delegation from Bridgwater we can make sure we hold it to account. There is however a major opportunity to strengthen and increase the powers and responsibilities of Bridgwater Town Council, making more services controlled locally, creating jobs and bringing power closer to the people. For this reason alone, we need to make sure it is Labour controlled. Please vote for ALL your Labour candidates on May 5th.”
WEST
In BRIDGWATER WEST, the wards of Victoria and Wyndham, Labour are fielding experienced Councillor Mick Lerry and new candidate, former Sedgemoor employee Tim Mander. Both are fighting to win and also pushing for a grassroots campaign at Town Council level to kick out the Tory incumbents with Meg Boucher and Elaine Di Campo in Wyndham and Liz Marsh in Victoria.
Mick says ““The pandemic has put huge pressure on the local community and to help the repair and recovery, there will be greater need for public services and support. People and families are now experiencing difficulties, due to the increasing cost of living and inflation. Residents will need a Local Council and Councillors to provide the public services and support needed to prosper, rather than having opportunities taken away from them.”
EAST
In BRIDGWATER EAST AND BAWDRIP, Labour are fielding a strong, experienced and loyal team lead by former Town Mayors Dave Loveridge and Tony Heywood. The ward, which also covers Bower manor and Bridge estate, will also be targeted by a strong community team with Sedgemoor Councillor Alex Glassford joined by new candidate Richard Morgan in Fairfax East and young worker Jon Falkingham standing for Dunwear South. Dave Loveridge, a sitting county councillor with over 30 years of election victories under his belt and a party loyalist with a track record of personally meeting as many of his constituents as
possible aims to grab the seat says “I have been actively involved with the Labour Party for the last 30 years, twenty of them as a county councillor and 10 as a district and town councillor and also as Mayor of Bridgwater. I am devoted to the people of this town and people know that I will come to visit them as soon as they have a problem. For this new unitary council, we need all 8 Labour councillors elected.”
Labour currently holds 2 of the 4 County seats in Bridgwater and in 2019 also returned 12 Town and District councillors.
The Battle of Bridgwater will be key to the future of the town and the balance of power on the new Unitary Council.
There will also be elections for Bridgwater Town Council which has been Labour controlled since it’s re-establishment in 2003 and which finally looks set to regain the powers it lost to Sedgemoor under local government re-organisation back in 1973.
In 2019 12 Labour and 4 Tory councillors were elected to Town Council.
Labour Unitary Candidates in the Bridgwater area
Good luck. Sock it to them. You’ve got a great team there