elections – devizine.com

Devizes South Conservative Candidate Accused of Election Fraud

Melksham & Devizes Conservatives released a statement on the 7th April explaining an internal audit revealed one of their candidates was “not qualified by residence as they believed they were,” and claimed it was a “genuine mistake.” Devizes residents have gathered on social media to express their concerns that electoral law has been broken and the affair is quietly being pushed under the carpet….

Conservative candidate Sarah Batchelor moved to the area in July last year, to take over as management of the Crown Inn in Bishops Cannings and therefore has not been resident in the area or on the electoral roll for the legal minimum requirement of twelve months to apply for a councillor role. Melksham & Devizes Conservatives said in their statement they have informed the Electoral Registration Officer and the candidate will “take no part in the campaign process nor take up their seat if elected.”

But residents are angered by both the belief this was not a genuine mistake as claimed, is an incident in which media attention is deliberately being avoided, and hypocritical when Melksham & Devizes Conservatives caused a major outcry at a local by-election, when a Devizes Guardian candidate accidentally breached election law. Another sour point was that the Melksham & Devizes Conservatives make no attempt to apologise for the mistake and any potential cost to the taxpayer if a reelection is necessary in the process which will follow. “You’d thought they’d have learnt after the PCC debacle a few years back,” the original poster stated, “is this what you want from local councillors?”

Announced on the MDCA X account, because everyone looks there!!!

“The qualifications and rules are clearly stated on the form, and an individual knows if they meet them or not,” one resident pointed out on the Facebook group, Devizes Issue (But Better,) where the debate is causing a storm. “If the individual completed the forms,” they continued, “they have falsified an application. If someone else completed them on their behalf – they have not carried out due diligence or have ignored the clear rules. So which is it?”

The group were informed by former Labour councillor Noel Woolrych that “this is actually a police matter and is in their hands. However, I least believe that the name will still appear on the ballot paper as they had already been printed.” This raises the issue if she will be replaced, and as another commenter stated, “even though the election will still go ahead and the Conservatives have distanced themselves from the candidate, her presence on the ballot could still influence the outcome. Votes cast for her could impact the overall vote share and potentially alter the result, even if she’s not officially endorsed. That in itself raises concerns about fairness and electoral integrity.”

**Sarah Batchelor** (far right) pictured with other Conservative hopefuls, including Jordan Overton

A reliable source informed us these forms will have been checked prior to submission by Conservative Wiltshire Councillor Iain Wallis, who also controversially runs another Facebook group, Devizes Issues. It is a fact that this councillor is head of promoting all Conservative candidates for Devizes South. Sensitive enough to question the overall honesty of the Melksham & Devizes Conservatives it appears then, that the issue here has been deliberately avoided on said group, and elsewhere by Melksham & Devizes Conservatives, despite Councillor Wallis creating his own storm in a teacup at a by-election last year when a Devizes East Guardian candidate made a minor omission on a leaflet, falsely claiming the candidate had been arrested.

“I see it as fraud on both parties,” another resident said, “First party being the person who completed the forms and stated in the declaration that they are correct knowing they are false. Second, the political party who vetted the form knowingly didn’t complete the due diligence process to ensure that their candidate was lawful and correct.”

Again, we suspect the desperate local Conservatives are playing dirty for this local election, as they do for national politics, yet clearly claiming on their social media posts they are “local people with the community as our focus, with no central party control and our focus is not on national politics,” to divide themselves with the downfall nationally of their party. Yet, we discover them clearly using national party funds to campaign, and boy, they certainly are influenced by their national party tactics!

On a banner produced by the Devizes Conservatives it is claimed what makes candidate Iain Wallis “stand out” is that he “believes that every resident should feel their voice is heard.” Shamefully laughable considering this debate has to appear on groups he does not administrate and will no doubt be excluded from his own popular Facebook group. A group which has seen opposition candidates, councillors, support groups, upstanding citizens and charity organisations, and anyone who dares to challenge his opinion with a differing one be rewarded with lifetime bans.

We also find ourselves in said club of “disregarded dissidents,” for stating the facts, are proud to say it has been this way for a long time, and consider it a badge of honour!

Although, I strongly suspect, as it has been in past times when we have been caused to be critical of Devizes Conservatives, Mr Wallis will bleat like a hurt lamb, hold up a victim card, claiming all manner of falsehoods that we are attacking him personally. This simply isn’t true, and never has been. We only intend to highlight scoops that, for some strange reason, no one else is willing to risk their backhanders or potential advertising revenue to cover with the clarity needed to expose fraudulent candidates, which this is clearly as a case of. Is it my fault the same name appears to crop up each time? A case I rest there.

As the original post creator asked the group, “is this what you want from local councillors?”

A Chat With Green Party Candidate For Melksham-Devizes, Catherine Read

Over the coming weeks I’m having cuppas with candidates of the Melksham-Devizes constituency crazy enough to indulge my political ignorance and endure my inane waffling; it’s funnier this way! First under my spotlight is Catherine Read, standing for the Greens….

Bulked with other scoops the night before I was short of time to put in any research. Luckily Krishnan grilled Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay on Channel 4, which inspired! Steadfast in New Society I planned to be ruthless like Krishnan, but it turned out Catherine is such a friendly person I couldn’t bring myself to! At one point I whimpered I was playing Devil’s advocate, to which she replied, “oh, was you? I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question!”

Not the guts to be Paxman, I love the Greens, with their radically leftwing ideas and knitted jerseys, but fear their popularity is dwindled, not only by the misconception they’re a one trick pony, but also by those who, whilst accepting the importance of climate change, or not, might not sway so far left: truckloads of ‘em around ‘ere!

There’s an angle I must ask in line with the Melksham-Devizes Primary’s strategic voting idea, if Catherine understood the dilemma some feel a vote for a party lesser in popularity like the Greens is dividing the votes against Conservatives.

“I can understand why people might worry and why they might want to get the Conservatives out,” Catherine told me. “But from all polls across the country, we’re thinking it’s going to be a Labour government. I know here we’re a very conservative county, and even if Michelle Donelan did get in, she’s not in power. She’s just going to be a backbench MP with no influence at all. So what’s important is we get the votes to put pressure on who’s next in, to say, look, a lot of people voted Green because they are concerned about the environment, and that will send a message to the Labour government then as well.”

Story checks out nationally, according to the MRP the Greens are predicted to keep seats in Brighton, and Bristol Central, with 50% of the vote, and it shows Greens coming second in 46 Labour seats, which puts them in position to apply pressure on Labour. But this is not a Labour safe seat by any stretch of the imagination.

“I also think if you look at the percentage vote for the Greens it isn’t that high, where is that really going to make a difference? So I’m saying to everyone, vote for whichever party represents your values, because, you know the Conservatives aren’t going to be in, so this is your opportunity. And I would also ask; why vote for a different party which you don’t really like or want, and by doing that there is money attached to votes? I’m not sure whether a lot of people are aware of this. It’s called short money. What happens is it’s given to the opposition parties, and the amount they get is dependent on the amount of votes they get. Being optimistic here, if we get four Green MPs, we get money to help them through their parliamentary staff and produce policies. But that’s dependent on the amount of votes they get, so I would appeal to any Green voters not to give your vote and your money to a different party that you don’t agree with and try to support the Green Party.”

Catherine explained they were hopeful for at least four MPs in Parliament, mentioning Bristol and Brighton, but also Waveney Valley and one in Herefordshire. “I’m certain Waveney Valley is between Greens and Conservative; they’re like us over there. It’s rural, and very farming,” she clarified. “I think what’s driving it is protecting the local environment and nature, and farming as well. The Greens stand up for farming.” Catherine continued to tell me about local butterfly camps and tree and hedge planting projects on Morgan’s Hill. “It’s great; you meet people out there and they’re not necessarily from the Green Party, just people who are concerned about their environment.”

And while inevitably the conversation will turn to national politics, I prioritise local issues and getting to know the candidates on a personal level.

Catherine has lived in Bromham for over twenty-five years and worked at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. Her only political background is parish council level, but hey, Liz Truss read philosophy, politics and economics at Merton College, Oxford, was the president of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats, and look how that panned out!

I take people at face-value, it’s not the party nor the policies, it’s the expression of excitement when Catherine told me about submitting her nomination papers the day before, “and our Chippenham candidates’ going today,” she furthered. “We cover three or four constituencies, and then there’s the other two of the South, West and Salisbury. I believe they’re putting up candidates across Wiltshire. It was the Green Party’s ambition, to stand candidates everywhere.”

Surely such excitement transfers to motivation, to perform an honest job? Though, I asked what I will ask them all; “in a sentence, why should we vote for you?”

“I care about people, and I want to make people’s life better, basically. And I would put, climate change is what drives me to be in this position now.” Caring about people? A politician?! Now that’s a looney leftie concept beyond our fathoming around these sewage infested backwaters where we’d sooner just vote for the ‘circus of thieves’ with a blue rosette (enter winking emoji!) Yet the answer felt sincere, as everything Catherine said did. So we talked about her association with climate groups like Sustainable Devizes and Wiltshire Climate Alliance.

“They aren’t political at all, but I’m a member of them personally. They are great, they raise awareness and do good things. It’s good to be involved in your community to try and make it better, more sustainable,” Catherine said, enticing us to rap about the Sustainability Fair and pedestrianisation of the Market Place, Catherine said, “it doesn’t have to be a carpark, we can do something great with the space; that was the idea behind the fair.” Leading me to waffle about the boater band Devil’s Doorstep who played, but it allowed us to roll the chat into cycling and public transport, as they came up from the canal on bicycles, somehow carrying their recycled washtub bass!

Obviously, Catherine, a keen cyclist herself, was keen to see environmental improvements such as a better public transport system, cycle lanes, et al, but she also talked on enhancements at Green Lane’s Health Centre. “I’m passionate about the NHS. Devizes had the hospital, that hospital was lovely, and convenient, so you didn’t have to travel too far, and I think everybody misses that. So they put in a replacement, the health centre. It’s an environmentally friendly building. It doesn’t have a lot of things that a hospital has. It doesn’t have A&E or any wards. You can’t do a walk in service. We don’t think it’s offering as much to people that it could. Because if you need minor injuries, you go to Chippenham. I think people like community hospitals, but we don’t have a good transport system. It’s not easy for people to get to these places. I think you need to bring it into the communities.”

This is not going the callous way I planned so I told a story about a neighbour of a customer of mine who, one spring morning when the temperature had dropped, suggested with a shiver it was cold, and jested, “so much for all that bloody global warming rubbish!” It’s alarming, his thinking being just because it’s colder today in his village, a pinprick on the world map, climate change is a hoax, not forgoing we don’t refer to it as global warming anymore, it’s climate change! It’s not such an uncommon jest, but my point was, if Greens want in, least be able to persuade government on environmental issues, how do we go about convincing people with this mentality, how do we get this guy onboard with a leftist philosophy he’s not going to warm to?

“So they think what’s in it for him?” Catherine asked, talking environmental and social justice in one. “Obviously we want to reduce global heating or cooling because it’s overheating the planet. We want to reduce carbon, so maybe we put solar panels, insulate homes, because it reduces the amount of carbon energy they’re using. But that has a knock-on benefit for them, because they’re saving money, you know, they’re literally getting free electricity when the sun shines. If you insulate it, they’re going to get warmer homes as well.”

“It is strange,” Catherine replied to my rant about doughnuts who think it’s a hoax. “But when I’m trying to make things better anyway, so if somebody believes it was made-up, we’re only trying to make their life better. We’re trying to reduce the pollution and we’re trying to keep their homes, homes warm. They’re going to benefit from that. You know, we want to increase public transport too, and make it cheap.”

The Green Party are due to release their manifesto on the 14th of June, and like other party’s promises, it will bait the question how we will pay for these initiatives, the ones of the Greens being radical, like a national wage. With higher taxes? It seems the Greens think it’s all about eat the rich.

“A universal basic income, so everybody gets a set amount every year,” Catherine confirmed, “can help with poverty, because everyone’s getting an income, young people don’t even get the minimum wage. These things they will help everybody who’s really struggling now, and what they’re saying is, tax the wealthiest people. We’re not talking middle-class, we’re talking the top 1%, if that, you know, so it’s not going to affect us. This tax is just coming from those that can really afford it.”

I’m with this, there’s enough money to go around, it’s the unjust distribution of it, especially when it comes to taxes and the misuse of public spending. But common immediate reaction to the Green Party is they’re just going to whack our taxes up, and how do you convince folk otherwise?

“We’re not whacking up tax, we put tax on the richest people.” Catherine reaffirmed. “The reason we don’t seem to get services that work is, where does all that money go? That’s a question to be asked. We’ve paid our taxes. And like you say, the tax burden is the highest. But where has it all gone? And I think we’ve seen an example of why.” Catherine went onto example the PPE contract scandal during the pandemic. “It seems to me they don’t have any balances, any value for money, and we have the scandals with Lady Michelle Mone, and you know that I was quite upset and angry about all that, because that was our money. That should have gone into NHS services and protecting us, and it was an excuse to literally give away our money. It’s just not being put back into our public services. It’s being put into different things, and I think that’s the problem. I think that’s what needs to be addressed.”

And that’s where we are. While environmental issues should so obviously be top priority, though rarely are in other manifestos and folk’s day-to-day minds, and I vow never to be that spanner calling it all a hoax just because it’s a bit chilly today, I’m willing to consider the Greens and love what they say, but my fear their other policies are either vague or too radical for the majority will affect my vote being lost from the beloved ethos of getting the Tories out.

Lovely as our chat was, and interesting, it hasn’t helped my dilemma of what box to put my cross, it’s just reaffirmed my affection for the Green Party, and my prayers the others standing will have an eye on environmental issues too rather than just perfidious piffle; Lib Dem’s Brian Matthew is up next, we’ll see what he has to say on it!

The key, I think, is a coalition with Greens, to put the cat among the pigeons. But in the past election I found every time I mention coalitions to prospective MPs of yellow and red, they pull the expression of looking into the eyes of Medusa! Catherine though seemed keen on the idea, or at least to work with other parties. “I think they would work with the government on topics that we agreed we had common ground on.” Catherine said. “But I don’t think they would commit to supporting everything that the Labour government say, because obviously there’s differences. So I think where there’s overlap, yes, they probably would. But I can’t speak for the National Party, that’s just my opinion. I’m fairly new to politics. I think working with your community is what it’s about. I don’t think it’s about bashing heads all the time; it’s about just doing the best.”

It was a lovely chat, and I am thankful to Catherine Reed for her time; she’s an inspirational person, and as she said, if you’ve faith in the Greens, which you should, consider not giving your vote to someone you don’t fully agree with.

Battle of the Carolines: Historic Lib Dem Win In Marlborough

The Liberal Democrat’s are today celebrating a historic election win in the heart of Marlborough, in the first contested Town Council election for thirteen years….

In what was dubbed a “Battle of the Carolines,” the Lib Dem Caroline Sadler triumphed with 62% of the vote in what was once a traditional Conservative heartland.

The result came in at just after 11pm on Thursday night. A delighted Caroline Sadler paid tribute to Caroline Wrench (the Conservative candidate) and thanked all of the election staff before committing herself to work hard for all the people of Marlborough.

David Kinnaird Liberal Democrat candidate for East Wiltshire congratulated Caroline Sadler, and said “we have to see this result is a stunning win for Liberal values. It is a rejection of the Conservatives and marks the beginning of a political sea change in East Wiltshire. Roll on the GE.”

Congratulations to Caroline, and we wish her all the best in her role.

How to Topple the Tories’ Melksham-Devizes Safe Seat Next General Election

Tuesday before Christmas I’m in New Society. I gazed across to a table by the window, recalling an optimistic response from local Labour candidate Rachael Schneider-Ross when I quizzed her if she felt she had a chance in this Tory haven, in 2019. “Never say never,” she replied, predictably, it was not to be.….

This time, though we’re talking local politics I’m not with a candidate or anyone affiliated with a political party. I’m with Anne Graham of the Melksham & Devizes Primary, not a school, rather a school of thought with an ambitious yet strategic plan to topple Conservatives from this supposed safe seat in the next general election; cross fingers, toes, whatever you’ve got spare!

In interviewing candidates, I’d always ask if they felt a coalition was a possibility, never with a positive response. If there no unification within the alternative parties, everyone here against the monopoly of Conservatives is divided. Anne and her colleagues in the Primary, Mike White, Felix McGrath, and Claire Gwilliam, call it “splitting the vote,” I call it “divide and conquer.”

“All my life,” she explained, “I have never once voted for anybody who’s become my MP. I think the current electoral system needs changing, though I don’t think that’s going to happen. But when you look at this constituency and other parts of Wiltshire, the number of people who don’t vote for the Conservatives outnumbers those who do.”

This is correct in the Devizes constituency for 2019, only when considering adding the 30.6% who didn’t vote, reducing Danny Kruger’s 63% win to 43.8%, which Anne was keen to point out with pie charts. Another displays the predictions for the next general election, estimating Conservatives to take only 20.8%. Though they’re still winning, if combined, the votes of the other big three weigh in at 37.6%.

Without a united strategy to challenge this plummeting majority while the iron is hot, there’s confusion as who would be best to strategically vote for to overthrow the Tories, virtually a two percent difference between Lib Dems’ and Labour’s predicted results; herein lies the issue. Yet more concerning is this general frustration that it’s unsolvable, and the idea there is no point in voting at all if it’s always a foregone conclusion.

“That’s a really important group,” Anne expressed. “There’s about a third of people who don’t vote, particularly an issue for people under thirty, something like a third of those people are not even registered to vote. If you look at the numbers of the people who don’t vote in this constituency, if all those people voted and they didn’t vote conservative, that would change the result drastically.”

The Melksham & Devizes Primary offers a possibility we should view as an opportunity, a silver lining, provided enough people gets behind it. Its beauty is you’re not signing up, aligning, or devoting to anything. All they ask is we’re conscious of it and take heed of their valid, professional, and in-depth research.

Anne puts a leaflet in front of me headlined “let’s be clever and vote together,” and graphically depicting fish. Akin to the most haunting of Bruegel’s images, Big Fish Eat Little Fish, yet unlike the doomed fish in the painting, the smaller fish in this diagram are joined within an even bigger fish. Diagrams are all well and good, but is this possible in reality? Is it possible to overturn this historically Conservative seat, and exactly how does the Melksham & Devizes Primary intend to try? I asked Anne, and by the end of our chat I felt more confident there’s a real chance than ever before.

“I think the only way to outnumber the Conservatives is to make tactical voting public,” Anne continued, “basically to get people to coalesce around one of the alternative candidates, the Green, the Lib Dem, or the Labour, based on the best person for this constituency. Maybe that’s a local person, somebody who’s got experience, somebody who’s young and dynamic, whoever people think is the best person. And then to publicise that, saying if you want to vote tactically, we’ve asked through public Q&A sessions to decide who you think is the best placed person to represent the constituency. The majority say it’s this person, so we would recommend if you wanted to vote tactically, you vote for this person.”

My concern: I may not personally agree with this “chosen one”, and in knuckle-dragger’s inane flaw of fighting far-right government with an even further right party, are they invited? Though my initial plan to play devil’s advocate backfired, upon Anne showing me the rightwing-free graphics, we’re clearly only talking middle-of-the-road and left parties, and now I’ve nothing left but to nod in agreeance; I like this idea, and even if I didn’t, a bad plan is better than no plan… even Baldrick had a plan!

I wanted to confirm they’re not asking for anyone’s allegiance or association, as in signing your name in blood that you will vote for this chosen candidate no matter what. They’re only asking people to sign up to the website so they can distribute this information, which, cometh the day, we will gladly publish the result of their findings.

“We’re looking for people who want to be kept involved in some way, though”, Anne extended. “People who would like to be actively involved – because I think there are a lot of people out there who are alienated – feel like their vote doesn’t count. And the other thing is that people are unaware of the new requirements on voter ID.”

We chatted politics for some time and discussed our reasoning for mutually feeling the Conservatives have lost their path of vison, are out of touch and unsuitable to govern. “I’m very wary of party politics because I don’t like the factional way people fight; I’m more cooperative,” Anne stressed.

I believe such reasons are widespread yet obvious, and going into them here is a distraction from the objective, to highlight the Melksham & Devizes Primary; it was merely to confirm we’re singing from the same song sheet. Though my personal opinions are unprofessionally formed, on the basics I know and consume, Anne’s interest in politics is more specialised. She recalled her inquisitive childhood, telling me of her mum driving around, how she’d ask her, “who designs this one-way system, who says this goes here, who puts these street signs up?!”

Anne studied for a degree in public administration. “From there I’ve worked a lot in the public sector. I’ve worked for some of the big accountancy firms. So going into the public sector, I’ve worked inside local government, and I’ve worked inside the NHS. My whole interest when I was doing my degree was around value for money and the accountability when you pay your taxes. How is that money being spent? How do you know it’s being spent to best effect? How do the policy decisions that politicians make then get translated into the budgets and financial plans that cascade down from the vote in the Houses of Parliament to the town council and the county council?”

Enough backstory, it’s only to show Melksham & Devizes Primary aren’t randomly pushing a pin into a map. “My starting point”, Anne reverted onto the subject, “is predictions from an organisation called Electoral Calculus. They’ve predicted the general election result correctly for something like seven out the last eight. What they’re currently predicting is a Conservative majority of about 2,000. So, if people carry on doing the same old thing, we will get the same old results, because no other parties are predicted to exceed the number of Conservative votes. However, if you could combine the people who would vote for the Lib Dem and Labour together, you’ve got over 24,000 people. Combine them with the Greens, you’ve got a potential majority of over 12,000. It’s possible, I think. The only way to make a difference is to do something different.”

“So, for me, trying to run this primary model is the ‘doing something differently,’ because I am really frustrated that nobody’s done this. Why is nobody doing this? Why are people not out there, shouting and making a fuss? Why are the parties not working together? And quite often, the answer comes back to, well, the Lib Dems were in coalition with the Conservatives, and they let you down, which is exactly what you just said.”

She’s right too, I did suggest this when discussing the Tories coming back to power in the Cameron era, casting my vote to LibDems, who sold it to the Tories. But on a local level I’m back in support of LibDems, alongside Labour and Greens, and I don’t know which way to turn. I’m only adamant the Conservatives need to be taught a lesson. “In my opinion”, Anne said, which is bang on the money, “we need to think about what’s best for this constituency, the people who live here, and try to get past the someone did this, and she said that, and they did this, and they did that, yeah? The top priority: you change something.”

“I’m no friend of the Conservatives,” she continued, “I disagree with a lot of their policies. I think they’ve done a lot of damage to the country in the past thirteen years, particularly they’ve underfunded public services, you can see it day-in day-out. You only need to drive around the area to see potholes, and the reason there are potholes on the roads is because they’ve underfunded local government. That goes under the radar because people don’t understand the government and how it’s funded. The only way in this area is to somehow get people to back a candidate against the Conservatives.”

Anne reverts my attention to the graphs, “This graph shows good gains for the Lib Dems: this number has been getting progressively bigger. But there are other polls which put Labour ahead of Lib Dems in this area, so it’s not clear cut: Labour and Lib Dems are always close.”

The other factor is the moving of the constituency boundaries. To maintain a greater chance of winning more seats, the government has shifted the goalposts, splitting their safe seat in Devizes, which Michelle Donelan is eager to sit upon. “If now is not the time, I don’t know when is”, Anne expressed. I was keen to ask how they get this message out.

“So, we’ve been out with democracy meters, asking questions, what people think about, is the NHS safe in conservative hands, for example. And then people put stickers on the board, like they did with the Brexit campaign. We’ve done one in Devizes and in Bradford on Avon so far, and we’re planning to take it to Melksham”. They also plan to go door-to-door. They have a website which, “explains how it all works, and then we will organise some public question and answer sessions before the general election. We invite the candidates. This is not Hustings. This is not us trying to interfere in the democratic process. All these people stay on the ballot. We invite the public to come and talk to these people. Ask them questions. See what you think. Who do you think is the best person for this constituency?”

Melksham & Devizes Primary plan to live stream the events too, and record votes on who should be this chosen candidate. “The question is not who do we recommend,” Anne concluded, “rather, who do the public think is the right person for the constituency? [The recommendation is by] the people who’ve come to the events who’ve asked the questions in public.”

The papers she gave me optimistically conclude thus: “lose separately or win together.” I wish it was this cut and dry. Anne tells me they use a model from South Devon primary, and there are others too, one in East Wiltshire, where Danny Kruger will be standing. I gave thought to the surprise result in a 2021 North Shropshire by-election, a one hundred and seventeen year Conservative stronghold which fell to Lib Dem candidate Helen Morgan. Anne pointed out that that constituency was far more yellow than red, whereas here the vote is much more evenly split.

“Those constituencies have an obvious second choice”, she explained. “A lot of the political system …and the way that elections are framed in the mainstream media where the constituencies are marginal… there’s a lot of focus. The mainstream political parties will focus their energy and their attention on marginals because those are where the elections are won or lost. We have a situation where we are not marginal and our vote is evenly split, so neither Labour nor the Lib Dems nor Greens are targeting this seat, so they are not putting any significant resources beyond what they normally do into this constituency. They’re just ignored, ignored from their [central offices]. Well, that’s not good enough. Then everyone here thinks, ‘oh, there’s no point voting because they (Conservatives) just will always be in’. And then you’ll get people who do go out and vote for the other parties, but [they will vote for] whichever one they may think is best, and so split the vote. So the Conservatives always win. It’s the definition of madness, isn’t it? If you always do as you’ve always done, you’ll always get the same result if you don’t do anything differently.”

This caused me to visualise an animal in a cage, disturbingly trapped and perpetually sauntering back and forth. “Yeah, that’s a good analogy”, Anne agreed. We shouldn’t hold hope for a fictious David and Goliath scenario: only if we have multiple Davids will this work; only if we take the data, collate opinion, and stand united to strategically vote will anything ever change. So, here’s your starting point: join in on this website and Facebook Here, to follow the progress of Melksham & Devizes Primary and, when general election time comes around, consider the strategic option they present.

Thanks to Anne at Melksham & Devizes Primary for taking the time to explain. We had a nice chat. I reckon it’s a great idea, but it is something I doubt the mainstream media will be willing to publicise, that’s why we’re here! Dunno about you, but I’m sick to the back teeth of the underfunding, the ignorance and self-entitlement, the disregard for important social and ecological matters, the partying while people died, the supporting of xenophobia and genocide, the daily scandals and utter selfish thievery from the ones supposed to govern us, the ones we pay to serve us; change is a necessity now, let’s hope this works, I don’t type two thousand words for the love of it, mate!!