Forward to the council elections - May 2006
FOLLOWING an exhausting but gratifying general election campaign the Independent Community Group (ICG) can now look forward to the real test, which will come at the 2006 local elections.
There remains of course the slim possibility that the political establishment will recognise the folly of courting the organised community for an enemy and will be prepared to discuss the option of working with us in a way which would permit us to operate outside of the electoral arena. The evidence of local history however teaches us that this is unlikely, and therefore we work on the presumption that the ICG will once again be fielding candidates and looking to win council seats, as we did in 1998 and again in 2002.
The state of play is as follows:
At present New Labour holds 37 out of 60 seats on the London Borough of Hounslow, including that held by Councillor John Connelly who is presently without the party whip. The Conservatives have 14, the Liberal Democrats 5 and ABeeC 1. We hold the remaining three seats, all of which are in Isleworth ward.
In this immediate vicinity the ICG won Isleworth fairly comfortably in 2002 with almost 53% of the vote, against New Labour's 30%, 10% for the Conservatives and 7% for the Liberal Democrats. We are well poised to retain these seats, although we are not complacent.
In Syon we ran Labour a very close second, with one of our candidates just 32 votes from capturing a seat. The Lib Dems came some way behind us in third place, with the Tories closely behind them in fourth.
In Hounslow South we came third with 12.3% of the vote in May 2002, marginally ahead of the Lib Dems. However in a by-election later the same year we stormed into second place with 29% of the vote, with the Conservatives behind on 26% and the Lib Dems on 7%.
In Osterley & Spring Grove meanwhile we managed a modest but healthy increase from our previous incursion in 1998, achieving 9.1% of the vote against 6% previously.
Meanwhile we have for the past year or so been increasingly active in Brentford, which we have never contested electorally but which has already demonstrated that it is capable of abandoning its traditional New Labour allegiance when it elected the ABeeC's excellent Luke Kirton in 2002.
So, what to do in 2006?
First let us say that nothing has so far been ruled in or out. Our Elections sub-Committee will meet several times over the summer and early autumn and hopes to be able to make some firm recommendations to the ICG Committee later this year.
The plans of other parties and groups will of course be taken into consideration, but we would expect them to recognise our claims in those areas where we are the main counter to New Labour. Where there is any dispute about this we are willing to talk, but will not be taken for granted.
We recognise, as much if not more than any of the other parties or groups, that the imperative is to exorcise our local body politic of the malevolent influence of New Labour, not just by removing its majority at the council chamber but also by reversing its deep, tapeworm-like penetration of the institution itself. To us this is not about ideology, it is a question of fundamental morality and standards of decency in local political life.
As said, we are prepared to discuss the ways and means of how best to go about this with anybody. But anything we discuss, we discuss as equals, not as unwanted "guests" in a political process which is somebody else's personal property.
We can be contacted at icg@communitygroup.org.uk by anybody who has any comments to make or advice to offer. All correspondence is treated in the strictest confidence unless otherwise requested.
 The Community Group (ICG) |
Yahoo Quick Search
Send E-Mail to: icg@communitygroup.org.ukCopyright © 2000 David Freeman. All Rights Reserved