Don’t forget, Local Government Elections are taking place in Ruddington this Thursday – with our two village Polling Stations at St Peter’s Rooms and The Village Hall open between 7am and 10pm. For newcomers to our village, the one you’ll need to use depends upon where you live – and is printed with a location map on your Poll Card.
Ruddingtonians are only required to cast votes for up to three new Rushcliffe Borough Councillors this time. This is because there were more seats than candidates for Ruddington Parish Council, so that’s uncontested, and the next Nottinghamshire County Council elections aren’t until May 2021.
Given Ruddington’s history, it’s perhaps rather surprising there’s no one at all standing for the Liberal Democrats. Nevertheless, it’s still set to be a three party race between the Conservative Party, the Green Party and the Labour Party. Each is fielding three candidates here, too, giving us the opportunity to do a blanket vote for our favoured political party or to pick and choose up to three individuals we think would best represent our village on the Borough Council.
Existing Ruddington Councillor Martin Buckle is seeking re-election – whilst fellow Conservatives Sibby Buckle and Gary Dickman are also standing this time. Matthew Sisson, Chandler Wilson and Ian Wilson are representing The Green Party. Gill Aldridge, Mike Gaunt and Jen Walker are standing for the Labour Party.
To help you reach your decision, RUDDINGTON.info asked each political party to write a hundred words for us about what their priorities would be if elected to serve our village. Listed alphabetically by party, these are the mini-manifestos they wrote:-
The Conservative Party
“Conservative led Rushcliffe Borough Council is one of the Top 10 places to live, with Rushcliffe residents named as the ‘third happiest’ in the UK. Remaining debt free, RBC delivers the lowest Council Tax in Nottinghamshire, generates £2m/year in investment income, opened the new leisure centre and Council HQ at Rushcliffe Arena, saving £400,000 annually, and built more social housing than any other Borough in the County. RBC follows a Green Charter, introducing “Refill Rushcliffe” water schemes, reduced single use plastics and planted over 1000 trees across the Borough. We live in the village. This is a LOCAL election, and we will tackle concerns like traffic congestion, car parking, inappropriate housing and maintaining a vibrant village centre.”
The Green Party
“Voting for Matt, Chandler and Ian will be a vote to make a difference for Ruddington. The climate crisis, as explained in Attenborough’s BBC programme, is our main concern along with supporting the Community. We will not support the sale of community land and will oppose new houses on the Greenbelt. We will vote on each issue as we think based on our values and the impact on Ruddington, not as told to by a Party. You will be able to influence our decisions and to have us explain our decision to you. We will work with others to make a difference.”
The Labour Party
“Labour will put the people of Ruddington first. We are working people who will bring a new perspective to the Borough. We have been knocking on doors, speaking to residents and have heard that people want an honest discussion around housing, that there are concerns about lack of funding for our schools, worries about the health of our high street and despair over the state of the roads. Our face-to-face approach in this campaign has been to try and bridge political differences and find common ground on what we want for our village. Your concerns are real and justified and we want to get on with dealing with these issues as your representatives.”
If you’d like to see individual details of the above candidates please click >>HERE<<. It also confirms which polling station you need to use depending on your card number.
Of course, the choice of candidates is entirely yours. But remember, if for whatever reason you choose not to exercise your democratic right in the polling booth this Thursday, then you may later regret not having your say when you were given the chance.
