Thetownend.com

Well they are this thursday and votes are with Labour this time.
The Blu adminstration needs ousting imo. Building on green spaces,cuts in services and the wifi fiasco the main reasons for me.

Don't you always vote Labour, comrade arriba?  :)

Nope not always. Last general election i voted Lib dem :doh: and have voted green-lib dem in the locals previously.

Khaki party?

I will have the pleasure of voting for anyone but Bluh since he has moved to my Old Town ward. He's shifted from Dorcan to here as it's his home ward (it isn't, he lives in Clifton Street which is Eastcott) as it is probably far likely that he'll get in here than anywhere else. Only problem is, there are loads of candidates, so protest votes are likely to be spread, meaning he gets in again.

I think Bluh might just struggle with the feeling in that area about the Croft school fiasco.  He and his colleagues have made a lot of strange decisions besides this, the wi-fi project which has cost the town almost half a million, buying back some old stones just to leave them in storage at Wroughton, the corrugated iron water feature which is just plain awful and I could go on about releasing a lot of green space to builders etc.  Why did he not stand in Eastcott (his home ward),  at least his partner could have voted for him, unless he was upset with what was going on as well?

Hmmmm - trouble is 20 years of the last local Labour council hardly did a lot for Swindon did it ??!?!

In the end they almost walked away knowing what a fuck up they had made

Don't get me wrong - Bluh is a complete tool as well - so this one is very difficult

A current tool or a past tool - or a new tool altogether :) ?

Doesn't just have to be a straight choice between the old and the new, sheepshagger. Kareen Boyd, who was part of the anti-Croft school campaign and led the way in uncovering a lot of the incompetence and arrogance surrounding that decision, is the "Arab Spring" candidate in Old Town and it would VERY much upset Mr Bluh et al if he were to be unseated by her.

Think yourself lucky - after they made themselves virtually unelectable in Old Town, we've had Bawden and Foley dumped on us in Lawn and Chiseldon. Talk about "a pig in a blue rosette"...

Ha Ha - you can keep 'em Paul !!

Thing is I am one of the minority that thinks Croft is a great place for a school - so Kareen won't be getting my vote either :)

Our local councillors sent a leaflet out telling us how caring they are and that they'd listen to our concerns regarding a gravel bin needed at the top of the road in winter. Needless to say they got the name of the road wrong.

Its this kind of shodiness that will see my protest vote go to the fittest female independent or the one with the stupidest name/ campaign cause.

For the first time in years, I think I'm not going to bother.  Completely turned off by politics in general at the moment...which is very unlike me.  Hope it doesn't last.  There is also the problem that, around my way, they could stick a blue rosette on Ian Huntley's lapel and put him up for election - and he'd get in without a problem.  All seems a little pointless, really.

EDIT:  Having just read Batch's post, I have changed my mind.  I also will now be scouring election manifestos with a lecherous eye.

Who needs tools.....will not be voting i dont think.
I have sadly come to the connection that a vote on your principles means nothing.
If i do vote it will be blue.....at least they dont pretend to be for the working man...unlike red.
Yellows and greens are a bit to wishy washy for my way of thinking.

Years ago we had a very fine celebratory night when we (Labour) dumped Bawden out of Eastcott...at the time I thought that would be the last we see of the old bugger...but he simply ousted the Tory councillor up for re-election in Lawn, (now Old Town) by whatever the Tories do to pick a candidate. Presumably something similar is happening here.

Ardiles/Batch finding semi decent birds in politics is a bit of a long shot....I've an eye on Stella Creasy, MP (Lab) for Walthamstow...quite pretty, if a little lumpy...

[url width=460 height=276]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/7/30/1248943285618/Stella-Creasy-Labour-parl-001.jpg[/url]

Be interesting to see how far she goes up the greasy pole...

You are not wrong, the best one is a Tory though

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/swindon_advertiser_local_elections_2012/ward/273/3949/

I may just not bother :(

Not bothering this time. Politics is a shambles in this country at the moment. They are all useless. Dont waste your time voting.

I used to vote Labour up until and including Blairs first triumph but thanks to him there is no difference between any of the three main parties.
So my postal vote went in the post with a big black X against the "Raving Looney candidate".
To many people died/deported for scruffy urchins like me to vote so I feel the need to use my vote. However it would be nice to have something different to vote for.

dont vote, cant moan IMO

Agree, i've emailed all the parties with issues and concerns I have about the swindon. But i've heard anything back from labour or the lib dems, and nothing to convince me to vote for the cons so i may just vote for an independent. got nothing to lose. i live right next door to my polling station so i have no excuse

I can remember years ago Bawden coming into the shop where I worked sucking up to the owner like a sniveling little creep, god it was cringe worthy. He only came in once in a blue moon for his "special" purchase rarely bought anything else and it denied the regular customers who spent more and more regularly and were grateful for the service we provided. As a died in the wool Tory he makes my skin crawl.

I sent Perkins away with a flea in his ear the other night too. Cheeky fucker bristled when I challenged him and the Conservatives in Westminster. Tried to wriggle by saying we're nothing to do with Conservative government. Now I'm not thick I bloody know that so he should not have patronised me & rubbed me up the wrong way on that one, but I had him by reminding him he was stood on my property with a fucking blue rosette on! I know a lot of the shit were in is as a result of the financial melt down caused by the Last government but there is so much locally and nationally that is wrong and pissing me off. UKIP 4 me at the local and next general. I want out of Europe for a start. £50m a day, for what?

Sorry about the rant.

Communist party for you then....everyone is entitled to moan...everyone has to pay taxes and LOCAL council taxes so i feel if i dont vote i can moan as much as i want seing as its my hard earned doing the hard work not a few local councillors.


What a ridiculous thing people say....dont vote cant moan.....you vote and you moan if it makes you happy but it will change sweet fa.
If you are 15 you cannot vote but you are entitled to moan and have a view.....i dont like voting just for the sake of being able to moan...i dont vote because the general elections are a joke...ask the people of Bradford....that will be Labour again at the next proper election.

Considering the bloodshed and wars to create democracy in countries i think every one should turn up and make their vote, even if that means spoiling the ballot paper.

No one can tell me wars were won and lost to protect democracy.....didnt the Germans get run out of Russia....not much democracy there is there.
If a person dosn't want to vote whats the problem.....its my democratic right not to vote if i dont feel the need.
I have voted for years...not this year though...had enough.

One of the 'best' spoiled papers I saw was someone had drawn a rather accurate pencil illustration of a farm yard scene over their ballot paper - tractors, pigs, trees, birds the lot. It must have taken them ages - yet still I had to agree with the returning officer that it showed 'no clear intention' Though I was tempted to say yes it did - i.e. they didn't give a shit.

I agree with Leef, though I end up voting more out of duty than anything.

I won't be voting, but I am absolutely disgusted with the way the council spend money drawing white lines everywhere. If people can't see a fucking curb, or more amusingly a roundabout, it's their car that suffers not the curb you absolute cunts.

Living in Camden, I get the joy of voting for the Mayor. A few of the candidates...

UKIP: Lawrence Webb - stop immingration  :zzz:

BNP: A Uruguayan called Carlos - no, really  :hmmm:

Lib Dem: Brian Paddick - promising to sort out the Met police  ::)

Conservatives: Boris Johnson - reckons cutting waste at City Hall will save £3.5bn, ermmm  ???

Labour: Ken Livingstone - basically promising to save people money and spend more, as usual

This won't be an easy decision.

A lot of the Tories have got a face for a fist, Bluh, Martin, Perkins. The wi-fi fiasco alone should cost them their jobs. 

So true, had Martin and Perkins and Keith someone or another leafleting my area last week, fucking arseholes. Labour have no hope in Shaw and Nine Elms as the majority (although not all) are middle class, 4 x 4 driving Tory Fuckwits, that sadly for them, know no better.

I asked Keith whatsisname thingamybob about the failed Wifi fiasco and was told "I understand your concerns, but dont judge us locally on what is happening nationally". What the fuck has that got to do with those tax leeching cunts spending £400k of our money on a pile of wank that was Digital City and national politics is beyond me.

I would rather remove my own testicles with a blunt cheese grater than ever put an X next to the name of anyone that has (Conservative) next to it. They have failed us locally, nationally, and will continue to do so until there is nothing left to possibly fuck up. Cunts

There's very little left to fuck up, the last lot made sure of that. What in fact you mean is this current lot appear to be fucking up what's left.

Never ever underestimate the ability of politicians of all parties at whatever level to find new things to fuck up, often combined with the ability to re-fuck up that which has already been fucked up but in new and interesting ways

That's Tucker-esque.

Right, This is an appropriate place for me to state just how much right, I dislike Garry Perkins, right?

Anyone who's had the misfortune of talking with him may recognise the style of speech, right?

Wasn't Nick Martin the guy who was so anti-STFC that he was prepared to lay in front of the first bulldozer to arrive on site when the tory council offered us Shaw tip as a site for a new ground!!  That announcement of the new ground included none other than Mike Bawden in the picture if I remember correctly.  How times quickly changed.

To be fair to him, he did us a favour.  It would have been a terrible location for a ground.  Imagine fans arriving at Swindon Station and having to find their way over there.  Almost as inaccessible as the Kassam.

British politics is boring and needs jazzing up a bit.

A few drugs and murder scandals would help and a Berlusconi type would add a little colour. A coup attempt would definitely add a bit of spice.

He didint do me any favours, i live next to Shaw Forest so i could have staggered home in 5 minutes, but now Shaw Forest is starting to take shape i am sort of glad they didnt as its nice to have such a vast wooded area on your doorstep which the kids love.

Its a shame they didnt get the bulldozers in, they could have tested the crushability of Martin on Bob Holt first of all.

Thats the creature, right? I think this is his method of political persuasion. I saw him with on a litter pick with a few local schoolkids a couple of weeks back and onlooking photographers, you know an election is round the corner when this happens.

Hopefully Mr Perkins will come up with a plan on how to replace OUR £400k once he is undoubtedly re-elected tomorrow night. Failing that, he can go back to working as a a professional double for Baron Von Greenback.

Wasn't Perkins on the board of Rikki Hunt's wi-fi venture that has cost us all nearly half a mill?  Perhaps he should be held responsible for it now that Rikki has gone bust!!

Yes, Digital City or something. He should be held responsible, but the chances of that?

Nope, he was anti- "unlawfully giving away council assets to Diamandis" and building at Shaw Tip. He was very helpful when the Trust were drafting our proposals to redevelop the County Ground. Because that scheme was:
a) in the right location
b) not funded by the council giving Diamandis £25m of council land to make money off. Unlawfully.

Unlike the TipStad and subsequent Holt/Diamandis redevelopment proposals.

And re DigitalCity/Wifi/Rikki Rhyming Slang - never mind getting the money back, that's long gone, it might be quite nice to see some accounts so we can at least start trying to guess WHERE it's gone. SBC seem to have learned a lot from STFC's previous accounting practices - just don't file any in case someone asks awkward questions. Creating a WiFi network is, in many ways, a lot like building a house .....

Unlawfully?  Couldn't the same be said then about the council giving away the green fields at Pickards Field for redevelopment?

Bluh is a Chartered Accountant as well, how ironic.

The Council were going to spend another £4k to get the accounts filed as well.

I realise I've left this late, but I've just being doing some reading up on my ward (Mannington & Western) and the candidates standing.

My ward boundaries were changed recently and I'm now in the half of Westlea that is paired with Rodbourne & Even Swindon. This in itself is ridiculous, given that all of my local services that I'd want to vote about aren't even covered within the boundary any more (the Link Centre for example). Even though I live in Westlea, Westlea School no longer falls within the boundary either!

Lib Dem have one candidate and I can't find anything about her pledges. Tory's have three candidates and their main pledges are better care for Farringdon Park (not in our ward!) and regeneration of the Oasis (not in our ward!).

Labour have three candidates and actually seem the only ones to want to help the people of their ward.

Think you've outlined where and why your vote will go there samdy. Parks now fall into my ward so i'm hoping that will help boot the tories out. Only trouble is the odious Montaut is one of the candidates.

Best just leave it Sam ;)

Having been trying to do some research into the candidates for my ward I stumbled across this:

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/9656750.ELECTION_COUNTDOWN__Lydiard___Freshbrook/


I know what this bloke is talking about, it does happen and it does piss me off but it's the fucking highway code for fuck sake. Is this really what people want to waste money on? Because if it happens on that roundabout it'll happen on every one without markings if the driver is retarded enough.

I was able to vote for 3 people.I picked the ones with Rodbourne postcode and snubbed the sn5 postcodes so ended up voting for 2 Labour and a Green.

Which is exactly why this new Mannington & Western ward does not work.

I can't find anything about the candidates, so I'm not sure there is any point in me voting.

Edit: Finally found some stuff, but why are the party/candidate websites so shocking?

I voted for an independant, a Green, and a UKIP in the end.

Now I may have been out of Swindon for a while but, from what I do remember, the district/suburb of Mannington consists of a roundabout, some car dealerships, DIY stores and some football pitches.  Can't remember anyone actually living there.  Or is that complete rubbish?

there is a john lewis there now :nod:

I didnt vote, walked past the polling station and all i saw was a load of stuck up cunts canvassing outside

I voted for Jazz.Has an amazing voice and will sell plenty of records.

That's correct, but for boundary purposes it now includes half of Westlea & Toothill.

Voted for Ken Livingstone for mayor, and graffitied the ballot slip for the london assembly.
the politicians round my area always neglect our area anyway so fuck them

Well I said I would vote UKIP. Sadly for them there were not any in the Shaw ward. Although I was told i could vote for THREE candidates. WTF! Three Jesus Christ. So my choice was a wedge of Tories who'd normally get my vote, a few Commies, Sorry Labour candidates, well they can piss off for a start and one Socially Divided Party, again sorry Lib Dem. No thank you very much. Lastly and by no means least one said Monster Raving Looney Party candidate. Well Mr Pinky and Perkins guess who got my vote! 

Roly Gillards ghost lives on.

Nnnggghhh, Rod effing Bluh got back in... and Perkins.

Dismal turnout and the bastards who have done the most damage were not booted out.

Turnout says it all. Wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of the minor parties getting a decent result at the next general election.