It’s not a massive revelation but Doreen Holt has been selected to contest Blackpool South for the Liberal Democrats and Bill Greene has been selected for Blackpool North and Cleveleys.
Mrs Holt will be up against Hamish Howitt representing UKIP, Roy Goodwin representing the BNP, Ron Bell representing the Conservatives and Gordon Marsden representing Labour.
Mr Greene will fight with Simon Blackburn of Labour, Paul Maynard of the Conservatives, Roy Hopwood of UKIP and James Clayton of the BNP.
It’s not often you see a PPC put their opinions down on the line but Doreen Holt has done so;
Regeneration
Living in Blackpool since she was a young child, she has vivid memories of Blackpool in its hey day, enjoying a vibrant lively atmosphere. She was saddened to see the neglect and decline of our wonderful town over the past few years. We need to be positive about the future, our town needs regeneration but she insists that we must get the balance right, we must not lose our heritage in doing so. Tourism is Blackpool’s main industry, most residents benefit when the town is busy. We need to work hard to bring new business to Blackpool – our future depends on this.
Crime
Doreen continues to worry about residents feeling unsafe and afraid to out at night, she wants to see a more visible police presence, to deter crime and anti-social behaviour. Feeling safe is vital to everyone’s well being.
Healthcare
Doreen wants to see individuals being treated quickly and satisfactorily without the stress many people are experiencing at the moment. The NHS needs to work harder to make sure there are enough trained staff to cope with the enormous workload they are facing.
Education
Doreen has brought up her own children and as a registered foster mother for years had many foster children too. She also has ten grandchildren and a great grandchild. She believes a sound education is vital to creating good citizens in future years. We have to ensure our schools provide the best education possible and give our future generations the opportunity to be able to compete and handle whatever life has in store for them.
Environment
We have to encourage residents to work together to create a greener, cleaner environment, we need to respect the are we live in. If we improve our environment, in the long term, the health and well being of our families will be better in the future.
Finally
A fairer more democratic society will help us rebuild our town together. This General Election is not a two horse race. Labour and Conservative administrations have both let us down. Look for change – Give Doreen a chance! She lives in Blackpool, she is aware of the problems in our town, like you – she faces them daily!
I can’t disagree with any of that, in fact I’d go so far as to say I supported it. It’s quite refreshing to see someone that will be honest and actually say what their socioeconomic ideals are.
If I thought she had a chance I’d stick my neck out and put an X next to her name. But am I being stupid saying that? Am I undermining democracy by not voting for the candidate I prefer? Anyone, after all, has a chance if enough people can get behind them but it will take quite a swing to the Liberal Democrats to remove Gordon Marsden.
But, given that Ron Bell equally has no chance at all of ousting Mr Marsden, maybe Doreen Holt is a better placed vote?
Roy Hopwood PPC for UKIP is a decent honourable bloke who does a lot for his community and has done so for years.
I could certainly vote for Roy at local or county level but I draw the line at voting for a 1 issue party at National level!
I would rather vote for a one issue party thats stands for something than the 3 in one fall for everything ,pro pc,pro globalisation,pro EU, pro multi-culti, pro immigration stand for nothing useless liblabcon fucktard party.
Nick Clegg = Gordon Brown=David Cameron= 100% SHITE GUARANTEED!
Roy or James will get my vote
I always thought I would cut my hand off before I ever allowed myself to vote for Lib Dem. However, after wrestling with my conscience I will be voting for them in May. They’re the only ones who can keep Labour out of my home seat so one less seat for Labour can only be a good thing.
She perhaps shouldnt have wasted the ink trying to tell us it’s not a 2 horse race election though.
I’m in the same boat. I think Nick Clegg lacks conviction and doesn’t have that political swagger, and I don’t believe the Liberal Democrats have any policies.
I do quite like Vince Cable although he looks and sounds like an old maths teacher. I couldn’t name any other current Liberal Democrats of any significance.
But do policies really matter? Should it be a vote based on who will benefit the town the most or the country? Should it be a vote based on the conviction of the PPC or the colour of their rosette?
Theres nothing really wrong about what Doreen has said, but a few more details wouldnt go amiss in respect of regeneartion of Blackpool, for example, improved infrastructure,the need to improve transport etc
True, but this was just a blurb from the Blackpool Lib Dems website. The underlying opinions behind what she’s said are sound, though.
If you want, post your questions here and I’ll send her a compendium of them to answer!
I am sure TB will have something to say in favour of Ron Bell?
There’s nothing good to say about him. The only thing in his favour is that he’s the PPC for the party that placed second last time.
Gordon Marsden has done nothing at all, yet Ron Bell has managed to sink his own battleship.
yes the HMS Kensington, lol
I would love to but I am in the same position he has done himself no favours with Kensingtongate. One positive thing I can say though is he is the best tactical vote to get Marsden out. I will base my vote based on the candidate and their conviction and politics, so that immediately rules out Marsden and Hamish (never in a million years) . So its between Doreen Holt, Ron Bell and Roy Goodwin. But like I say I will probably vote for Mr Bell as a tactical vote to get Marsden out and keep Hamish out.
Hmaish is an insult to idiots, lol
Lol, the thought of him being MP is a chilling thought, he doesn’t give a toss about Blackpool, its all a one-issue crusade.
Hes a disgrace to idiots period, how UKIP took him on defies belief and Einsteins theory of relativity, lol.
Totally agreed, but we all know his ‘selection’ was anything but ‘democratic’. I would consider UKIP if Blackpool South had a decent candidate like Roy Hopwood but I won’t even consider the one trick pony freak circus that is Hamish.
Even Lord sutch wouldnt piss on hamish, lol
Well of course I can’t vote for any of them but actually I quite like what she says though it isn’t really very detailed. I think the choice comes down to do you vote for a person you think is decent as an MP or do you tactically vote for the candidate most likely to oust the one you really don’t want. It’s a difficult decision in the end. Locally party politics don’t matter so much but you can’t say that for an MP. If push comes to shove and it’s a hung result then we’re likely to have the Lib Dems siding with Labour for a few concessions on some pet issues. I’m not sure I would like that so I’d probably vote Conservative if I was voting in this ward. Having said that I wouldn’t enjoy doing so. For me the Conservative candidate will win whatever happens – if he turned out to be an alien most of the voters wouldn’t notice and would vote for him anyway.
Exactly, you put it far better than I did. I think my main concern is that whilst Doreen seems to have the right idea on the local issues, the national ones are a worry if the Lib Dems are going to jump in with Labour.
That is my concern, I believe Coun Holt seems like a very nice lady and she would be a proactive local MP but I worry despite them denying it the Lib Dems would jump at the chance of a Labour coalition and I dread the thought of that. I do like some of what the Lib Dems say especially the abolition of unfair tuition fees and other policies but then some of their policies are too left wing for my taste. Personally though as long as anyone but Marsden or Hamish wins I am happy.
When the Lib-Dems have talked about what would happen if there was a hung parliament they have always said that they would support the party with the most seats provided certain conditions were met.
John, what are those conditions exactly please?
I don’t know but i am sure some would be seats in the cabinet and electrical reform.
Are Lib Dems for a two-pin system?
I have met the conservative PPC for Fylde Mark a couple of times, I may have to wash my mouth out after but he is quite a bright guy.
whats his name bruiser?
It’s Mark Menzies. Orginally from Scotland and been working on the other side of the Pennines for Morrisons until being PPC (now living in St Annes somewhere). Has stood in Labour stronghold of Selby before getting the Fylde ticket.
Why have the Lib’s left it so late to choose a candidate?
To be fair, Doreen Holt has been the candidate since the last GE. We have only just completed the official selection process. Doreen has also suffered a personal tragedy over the last 12 months with the loss of her son so that too delayed the selection process.
We were considering bringing in a heavyweight candidate for Blackpool North & Cleveleys but things didn’t go to plan and time got the better of us. Bill Greene is an excellent chap who will poll reasonably well for us in the GE and he will be a fantastic asset to Blackpool Council if (when?) he gets elected next year
We are spoilt for choice………….Not, lol
You have always got Hamish Howitt
yes hes a smokers pipe, dream, lol
I know that Labour has announced that Joan Humble is standing down, but I was unaware that Simon Blackburn had been slated to replace her by the local Labour Party – we live in interesting times with the polls narrowing, and fresh faces contesting the Blackpool & Cleveleys seats, as well as several familiar candidates.
Will Gordon Marsden be rewarded for his service since 1997 ?
Will the loss of the strong Labour showing at the northern end of the Fylde Coast allow the Blackpool North seat to return to the Tories who seemed to be a permanent fixture until the Blair landslide ?
Is there any chance at all of a representative of another party snatching either of the Blackpool seats ?
If money and people actually knocking on doors wins elections, I have seen no frenzied activity between General Elections to suggest that we can expect change in Blackpool and Cleveleys.
I don’t think Blackburn is officially the PPC yet, and I did hear something about them producing an all-women shortlist (quelle surprise).
But I heard from A Reliable Source a few months back that it would be him, and up until the other day all the signs pointed towards it.
I’d say Paul Maynard has the best chance of getting Blackpool North and Cleveleys, and Gordon Marsden will retain Blackpool South simply because the Liberal Democrats aren’t popular enough and the Tory candidate has committed political suicide.
Its fair to say if Blackpool North don’t go Conservative then the national swing they would need to win the election would be very doubtful.
I never want to see a a labour mp on fylde, ever again.
Well said Harold, I sincerely hope this will be the end of Liebour on the Fylde Coast for good. I just hope Grunshaw doesn’t get Lancaster & Fleetwood. It has been announced in the Gazette today Blackburn is the new Blackpool Liebour Party Leader and you are right another of these unjust discriminatory PC shortlists is proposed for Blackpool N & Cleveleys. I sincerely hope Mr Maynard wins, but the thought of 5 more years of Marsden in Blackpool S is a chilling thought. MARSDEN OUT 2010!!!!
The only thing that is guaranteed is that Hamish definitely is not even in the running.
marsden out, gurnshaw never in, labour out 2010!
You know when people say things like “I never want Labour in power ever again” I can’t help but feel they’re being narrow minded. TB comments on how he feels that all Labour voters keep harking back to the past and how he feels they are narrow-minded sheep but they may well have grown up in the 80s with mass unemployment and what appeared to be an uncaring government. This convinced them that they would never want the Conservative party in office again, which again is narrow-minded. Harold says time and time again that he never wants to see a Labour government or MP again however if Frank Fields was a labour leader and the party was following his policies then Harold may well be happy to vote Labour again. You should never say never because you never know what the future may hold and I would have never thought Labour would be on the political right of the Conservative but there you go.
It is narrow minded on the face of it, but as you say, so is the assumption that the Conservatives are the same as those that were in power 20 or 30 years ago.
The assumption that someone that went to a public school isn’t interested in “poor” people is just as narrow minded but Labour have and continue to use this as an electioneering tool. If they think that influences people into voting Labour – which they must do – then is it not fair to conclude that Labour voters are narrow minded?
People are afraid of the Conservatives because they’re honest about the cuts they’re going to make. Labour are not honest.
Everyone knows that cuts are needed and that they will be made, but the Conservatives have been honest and said that job losses are inevitable in the public sector.
I watched Iain Duncan Smith following PMQs this week and he was saying that an employment scenario whereby university leavers seek only to enter the public sector due to better job security, better pay and far better pensions and perks is not sustainable.
There needs to be a better balance and cuts need to be made.
It’ll happen under Labour too unless Gordon really does want to bankrupt us, but they’ve not talked about it because they don’t want to piss their biggest financial backers (Unite) off.
Labour has just said (and so have the Liberal Democrats today) that they wont be making immediate cuts despite business leaders calling for it in order to stabilise the public finances.
But heads up Labour voting public sector workers – the cuts are coming, and if they are delayed they will come thick and fast after a honeymoon period. You can run but you can’t hide!
I agree with a lot of your post Phil with some exceptions I feel that there are some very narrow-minded labour supporters that will never support any other party. There are however some labour supporters of the 80s and 90s which can no longer support this labour party which is not to say that they will never be able to support the labour party again just not this present one. I feel no party has any right to expect anyone to vote for them and equally every party should expect the electorate to listen to what they have to offer and vote accordingly.
The second thing I kind of disagree with you about is spending cuts I do agree they have to happen its when that is the key. It has been kind of researched that less people have been affected by this recession then the one in the 80s because of the high spending. Now economists are very split on how to handle down turning economies some say lessen the fall by spending during one and when its over the economy will recover quicker because the fall is less and then you can get your spending under control. Others would say spend nothing save everything and when the dip is over then invest heavily because you can have the financial resources to do so. I grant you this is overly simplified but the principals are the same I tend to go with the former because the UK is not a PLC (no matter how some MPs refer to it) cutting back in a falling market means increase job losses. This leads to massive welfare problems which happened in the 80s and which this country has never recovered from.
So yes cut but not to soon or to late but at the right time. When is the right time is the £17 billion question and unfortunately you only get one shot at it so who do we trust to take that shot?
Excellent posts John and I do agree to a large extent I do feel most Labour supporters are narrow-minded loyalists. I am not a sheep I actually have a mind of my own which is why despite being a Conservative supporter I am basing my vote based on the candidates. I don’t want Marsden getting in again, I despair at the thought of Hamish getting in so my vote is between Conservative, Lib Dem and BNP eventhough normally I don’t support the two latter parties. I probably never will vote Labour but not because I keep ‘remembering’ this terrible Government but because I despise socialism and would not back a socialist party. But as a more right leaning politician I would happily switch my allegiance to other right-wing parties such as UKIP (when Hamish and Hogan aka Dumb and Dumber are gone) English Democrats or independent candidates.
Labour = filth.