Sheffield Local Elections 2012

[Plain Talker 11]

who are you planning to put in their place, the greens?

 

The Green councillors in my ward have been fabulous. Worthy successors to the lovely, and hard-working Councillor Jean Cromer (lab) who retired a couple of years ago.

[Yuri 10]

whoo-hooh! great news!

 

It is great news.

[Yuri 10]

The Green councillors in my ward have been fabulous. Worthy successors to the lovely, and hard-working Councillor Jean Cromer (lab) who retired a couple of years ago.

 

In what way?

[DLAnotOK 10]

whoo-hooh! great news!

 

If you believe in stopping freedom of speech then yes, The fact the bnp have not got a candidate is a good thing.

I on the other hand thinks its a very bad thing that the bnp arent represented.

[Plain Talker 11]

Anyone smart enough to realise voting is a waste of time and effort is making an informed choice. Not buying into the lie about democracy shows wisdom.

 

Voting for a bunch of known losers and then complaining about it is worse than not voting at all. If everyone stayed away from the polls it might help to change things. But, supporting a system that fails every time is just stupidity.

 

I disagree. If you haven't cast your vote, then how do you have the right to complain when the "wrong'uns" get in?

[Plain Talker 11]

I disagree. The local green councillors in cental ward are totally commited to the local ward. They work incredibly hard.( I know this is true for councillors from other parties)You have to look at the bigger picture. What you do in your ward often can have an effect on other areas.

It is not just about library books for schools or planting trees.What about the economic strategy for the whole city,housing policy, education, social services public health. It's also about allocating resources across the city.

If I were to vote for an independent, I would want to know how s/he intended to tackle all these crucial issues and how they would work within what might be a "dolly mixture" coalition with no overall philosophy.

 

Great post, digglydog. At last someone who realises what the remit of local councillors entails. I was beginning to despair that such a person existed on Sheffield Forum.

 

I agree, both with diggly, and with Ruby. and as I said above, the greens, in central ward have been excellent.

[Yuri 10]

I agree, both with diggly, and with Ruby. and as I said above, the greens, in central ward have been excellent.

 

In what way? 'Excellent'

[Plain Talker 11]

In what way?

 

well, I know the Green councillors personally, and I have worked with them about improvements within this ward, such as where the best place to site dropped kerb crossings was,.

 

Councillor Jillian Creasy has attended a couple of litter picks that a local green/ environmental group has organises. (we do them about once every couple of months, in various areas) they all work very hard.

 

They are concerned about making the city better for all, not just an elite.

[Plain Talker 11]

If you believe in stopping freedom of speech then yes, The fact the bnp have not got a candidate is a good thing.

I on the other hand thinks its a very bad thing that the bnp arent represented.

 

I think it just shows that the lack of support means they have realised that the majority of voters aren't interested in falling for their rubbish, frankly.

[digglydog 10]

But tell us rubbydazzler, what does the average Councillor really know about, and can contribute intelligently to "the economic strategy for the whole city,housing policy, education, social services public health"

 

Let's be straight here, when it comes to such matters the Executive run the city at a strategic level.

 

Most councilors are OK when handling dog muck, but for the most part they are told when to turn up and how to vote by the brighter people in their party who determine strategy with the Executive.

 

We wouldn't miss 75% of councilors.

 

I agree to some extent that there are some (maybe most) councillors who are not up to speed with all aspects of the running of a city. In the larger parties it is easier to divide up the jobs so you don't have to be expert in everything and yes, I am sure they are told which way to vote in full council.In the smaller parties and I include independants in this.You certainly need to fess up on most issues. It wouldn't look too impressive if you abstained all the time beacuse you didn't know which way to vote.This is particularly pertinent if you end up holding the balance of power.

I don't have a problem with independents per se but it would be a very tough job without some sort of organisation behind you to do some of the donkey

work and also research to keep you up to speed.If they have the time and energy to have a go then good luck to them.

[digglydog 10]

They should stand. I find it hard to understand why so few Independents have stood.

 

As I have said before .You need to be prepared for a lot of hard work for what is mostly a thankless task. You need an organisation behind you,If only to deliver the thousands of leaflets needed to get your message out.It may be free to stand but elections cost money to run.If you are employed you need an employer who is willing to give you the time off to do your council work ,an understanding family who don't mind you being at meetings most evenings and taking phone calls at all hours,sometimes from disgruntled voters. I wouldn't have the job gift wrapped.

[Yuri 10]

As I have said before .You need to be prepared for a lot of hard work for what is mostly a thankless task. You need an organisation behind you,If only to deliver the thousands of leaflets needed to get your message out.It may be free to stand but elections cost money to run.If you are employed you need an employer who is willing to give you the time off to do your council work ,an understanding family who don't mind you being at meetings most evenings and taking phone calls at all hours,sometimes from disgruntled voters. I wouldn't have the job gift wrapped.

 

Still in a city of thousands, you would think more would stand.