As the Somerset County Council elections loom, Labour has once again shown itself to be electable in the county and around the South West. Hot on the back of the 2 gains in Shepton Mallet recently, a further 2 Labour councillors have this week been elected onto the Peasedown St John Parish council in North East Somerset.
The Peasedown victory is bad news for the Liberal Democrats who had made gains there at District level in recent years, but in the light of national setbacks had reclassified themselves as ‘Peasedown First’– however, even this ‘front organisation’ wasn’t enough for local people to see through them. In this traditionally Labour mining village which has doubled in size over the last 20 years with some 1200 houses being built it sends a message of hope across the historic county that the Lib Dems are on the back foot and can’t hide from the voters no matter how the reclassify themselves.
‘voted for common sense’
The victorious Labour & Co-operative Party Candidates, Jonathan Rich & Jordan Ness, were elected to the Peasedown St John Parish Council. Cllr Rich told us “The residents have sent a clear message with these significant Labour wins and have voted for common sense & a return to a more balanced Parish Council for Peasedown St John. Since the May 2011 elections 9 of the 17 Peasedown 1st councillors have resigned from the Council which angered many residents in the village. The Council has lost its direction and needs new elected Councillors that understand the needs of our community and who have experience in Local Government. I believe that Peasedown St John deserves a consistent Parish Council which puts the people’s needs first.”
“I wish to thank the electors of Peasedown for placing their trust in us. It’s time for the hard work to begin and bring some experience to the Council. A huge ‘thank you’ to all those in the Labour Party & supporters for their help over the last few weeks to make this possible. With the right candidates, and some hard work we could see Labour take the 2 District seats in 2015”