The Bradley Stoke Journal

With an announcement of the date of the General Election seemingly just days away, The Journal takes a look at how the main political parties have been building up their campaigns in the fight for the new Filton and Bradley Stoke (FABS) constituency.

The last few days have seen the first election leaflets dropping on doormats in Bradley Stoke. In case they haven’t reached your street yet, here’s a quick summary of what the main candidates have to say:

Edition 5 of Labour’s FaBs News sees candidate Ian Boulton promising to support local businesses and jobs. There is criticism of “Tory plans to cut child tax credits” and praise for Labour’s record on policing (“crime down by a third since 1997″).

Mr Boulton has nothing specific to say about Bradley Stoke but tells readers of his work on a regeneration project in Staple Hill and his position as a governor of Patchway Community College.

Conservative candidate Jack Lopresti’s newspaper, “delivered and produced at no cost to the taxpayer”, contains mostly articles on national issues such as “controlling immigration”, “help for working families” and “supporting pensioners”.

Mr Lopresti praises South Gloucestershire Council for “pushing through the lowest council tax rise ever” and welcomes “record investment” in repairing the district’s roads.

At a local level, Mr Lopresti is pictured at the Willow Brook Centre selling poppies for the British Legion.

The Liberal Democrats’ Focus paper is fronted by their FABS candidate Peter Tyzack, standing beside his “newly decorated car” at the Willow Brook Centre.

The bulk of the paper concerns itself with Town Council issues (youth work, health provision and road safety) but there are also mentions of national “policy points” – plans to bring empty homes back into use and raising the threshold at which income tax becomes payable.

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The British National Party (BNP) has announced that it is to contest the Filton and Bradley Stoke (FABS) parliamentary seat at the upcoming General Election.

The news, which the BNP claims will “shock the party’s opponents”, was revealed in a posting on the far-right party’s website on Saturday (13th March).

The article names “lifelong Bristol resident” David Scott as the party’s prospective candidate for FABS.

Mr Scott is said to have seen active service with the local County Infantry Regiment and his children “have all attended South Gloucestershire Schools”.

Other minority parties to have recently announced prospective candidates for FABS are The Green Party with Lon Lucas, and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) with Neil Dowdney.

The campaigns of the main party candidates have so far had little visibility in Bradley Stoke, with as yet no party leaflets arriving at Journal HQ and no presence at events held in the town. If we have missed something, please leave a comment to let us know!

Ian Boulton (Labour) has been the most active candidate in the online media, with regular updates on Twitter and, since yesterday, a video entitled “Local Roots, Local Knowledge” on YouTube.

The Liberal Democrats have renamed their local party website the “Peter Tyzack” site, where the latest article promises smaller class sizes for South Gloucestershire schools. Elsewhere, Mr Tyzack has been critical of South Gloucestershire Council, which he says hasn’t cleared rubbish from the Gloucester Road (A38) in Patchway since the Conservatives took control in 2007.

The Conservative’s Jack Lopresti, hot favorite for the FABS seat, prefers to boast about the achievements of South Gloucestershire Council on his personal website – with articles about cuts in bus funding imposed by the Labour government and the district’s recently announced “lowest ever” Council Tax rise.

More info: 2010 General Election in Filton and Badley Stoke

Conservative candidate Ernie Brown has been declared the winner of yesterday’s by-election in the Meadowbank parish ward of Bradley Stoke.

Mr Brown gained 31 more votes than his only rival, Liberal Democrat Sachin Singhal.

The result leaves the political composition of Bradley Stoke Town Council unchanged, with the Conservatives having twelve seats against the the Liberal Democrats’ two  (one further seat being occupied by an Independent).

Full result of the Meadowbank by-election 2009:

• Ernie Brown (Conservative) 206 votes
• Sachin Singhal (Liberal Democrat) 175 votes

Local party activists have been busy campaigning for the Meadowbank by-election, which takes place on Thursday this week (26th November).

Liberal Democrat candidate Sachin Singhal attended last week’s meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council, where he made use of the “questions from the public” session to confront Councillors with a query about healthcare provision in the town.

According to Mr Singhal, over 200 pregnant women in Bradley Stoke are having to travel to Filton or Patchway for treatment and advice after facilities at Bradley Stoke Surgery were withdrawn earlier this year, pending re-development of the site.

Council Chair Mark Forsyth replied that there was nothing the Town Council could do about the matter, adding that the surgery was waiting to receive planning permission from South Gloucestershire Council for its proposed expansion. He was then hastily corrected by some of his fellow councillors, who advised him that permission had already been granted – over twelve months ago.

The only constructive comment came from Cllr Brian Hopkinson, who suggested that patients could use the services of Four Towns Community Transport.

The Lib Dems have also distributed a second edition of their ‘Focus’ leaflet combined with a ‘Community Survey’ form in which they ask for residents’ views on a number of topics including traffic and transport, the location of the Town Council offices, anti-social behaviour and crime.

The Conservatives, whose candidate is Ernie Brown, have not (as far as we know) delivered any further leaflets. Agent Paul Smith did however provide a statement to The Journal which highlights achievements and plans of the current Conservative administration:

We are spending just under £6k on the lower football pitch at the Jubilee Centre (used mainly by BSYFC) to improve drainage in wet weather and reduce the number of cancelled matches during the winter months. BSYFC had hoped to obtain grants from various third parties but when these were not forthcoming we agreed to fund the full cost of the work.

We are replacing the maintenance man’s Piaggio as the old one died. The red three wheeler has been a regular sight on the roads in Bradley Stoke for many years, however it has been breaking down with increased regularity and repairs are no longer an economical solution. Council agreed at their meeting this month that a replacement should be purchased and the new black Piaggio will arrive shortly.

After last year’s freeze in the precept, to help residents through the recession, BSTC have implemented a modest 1.79% increase in the 2010/11 precept (amounting to just £2 on band D). The extra money raised will pay for the ongoing improvements to services introduced by Conservatives such as the dedicated MCO, extra part-time police officer, Brook way Youth club and many many more.

Approximately 2,250 people living in the Meadowbank parish ward are entitled to vote in Thursday’s election. Polling takes place at the Church of Christ the King, Mautravers Close, between 7am and 10pm.

Related links:

• Lib Dem Leaflet (21st November) [PDF, 381KB]
• Lib Dem Survey (21st November) [PDF, 316KB]

Campaigning for the upcoming by-election in Bradley Stoke’s Meadowbank parish ward is now under way, with the first party political leaflets being delivered to homes in the area.

The by-election, which takes place on Thursday 26th November, sees one candidate from each of the local Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties battling for a seat that became vacant after David Skeet (Conservative) resigned following criticism of his poor record of attendance at council meetings.

Mr Skeet blamed his lack of attendance on illness, but this does not seem to have stopped him continuing to fulfil his role on Stoke Gifford Parish Council, where he remains an active member.

The Conservatives were first off the mark when a ‘by-election special’ of their ‘in touch’ newsheet was delivered to homes in the ward that includes (amongst others) Kemperleye Way, Hawkins Crescent, Snowberry Close and Diana Gardens.

Candidate Ernie Brown, of Mead Road (Stoke Gifford), says he is concerned by anti-social behaviour and how it is affecting local residents. He highlights the extra full-time PCSO and part-time police officer that have been added to the local beat team thanks to funding from the Conservative-controlled town and district councils.

He also welcomes the “record investment” made by Bradley Stoke Town Council to provide better facilties for young people in the town.

Mr Brown says that residents of Hawkins Crescent have told him that they feel their road is being used as a rat run by drivers heading for the Town Centre and asks voters to write to him with suggestions.

The Liberal Democrats’ ‘Focus’ leaflet followed a week later,  headlined “Another Resignation, Another By-election” – referring to the fact that this will be the second by-election in just over a year caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor representing the Meadowbank ward.

A by-election in October last year, caused by the resignation of Caroline Charlton, saw the LibDems’ Jon Williams narrowly beating Conservative candidate Paul Turner.

LibDem candidate Sachin Singhal stresses the fact that he lives in the town and works nearby at Aztec West.

Born in India, he is now a British citizen and says he would like to “build bridges between the different cultures living in the town”.

On the contentious matter of a resurrected bowls club in Bradley Stoke, Mr Singhal says that, if elected, he will propose a fee based on the number of club members rather than the lump sum of £6,000 said to be wanted by the Conservatives.

The transfer of youth clubs in the town to Brook Way comes under criticism in the leaflet, with a claim that the Conservatives promised transport to take young people to the new venue but later withdrew the offer.

Read the leaflets here: Meadowbank By-election 2009