If you had to ask, and don’t live in Beddington North, do you really care?

Recently on Facebook, there was a piece about the latest delivery from Liberal Democrats on the west side of the Borough and one of the major party candidates, contesting Beddington North, observed that the same leaflets had been delivered to him in Wallington South.

It struck me at the time that of course he was concerned with what happened local to him, in the Ward where he lives, but was he as concerned about Beddington North?

Each of the major parties has two out of their three candidates for Beddington North recruited from outside the Ward – are they more passionate about where they live and the political perspective they promote than what happens to us in Beddington North?

This was brought home to me this morning by a message from Jillian Green who is standing as an Independent candidate on May 3^rd.  Jillian is a long term resident on the High View estate and has been campaigning for local residents on the proposed Sheen Way Playing Fields development since the Council first put their plans in the public domain.

She tells me that both Labour and Conservative parties are now canvassing the estate with promises to stop the building on Sheen Way – are these are the same Conservatives who abstained on the vote for the Local Plan that included the Sheen Way development?

Last week, I was out canvassing myself and I saw local Liberal Democrat Councillor Nighat Piracha out with a young activist – nothing remarkable about that, except after Ms Piracha had spent 4 years “representing” the Ward, they were having to use a map to find the right roads/addresses of target voters.

We have the 18 – 30’s being cynically targeted by the Liberal Democrats on National issues, we have the Conservative and Labour Groups picking up on genuine local concerns and making promises which, like so many in the past, will fade even before June.

Come what may, we local Independents will still be living alongside you all after the election.

But on May 4^th it will be a lot better if we are working for you as Councillors.

#LOCALANDVOCAL #INDEPENDENTSDAY3RDMAY