I have lived in Tamworth for 10 years and I have to say that the last few years have been strange times indeed in Tamworth politics.
The Member of Parliament, Christopher Pincher, has once again lost the Tory Whip because of his sexual misconduct. He now stands as an “Independent” MP in the House and, it would appear, fully intends to carry on through to the next election. We didn’t often see him in Tamworth before, but a sighting of him is now very rare indeed.
The ruling Tory Group on the Borough Council has split apart because of political/personality differences and a breakaway Group has been formed. They style themselves as “Independent” but publicly state that they retain their Tory values. They are for all practical purposes an Independent Tory Group that just fell out with the other Tories, and they are all now at loggerheads with each other.
We have also seen one of the Tories, a Borough and County Councillor, stand down altogether triggering by-elections for the County Council (Watling South) and the Borough (Belgrave). Our candidates are Carol Dean and Craig Adams.
In addition there are local elections for the Borough Council in May where I am standing as a candidate for Glascote. These elections will give us the clearest indication yet of the state of the Parties in Tamworth.
In the meantime when we go out and listen to residents they tell us what their real priorities are, what really matters to them. The cost of living, the loss of public services, ant-social behaviour, a declining town centre, crumbling roads, and the loss of services for younger people. This is what 13 years of Tory Government and 19 years of a Tory Council have brought to Tamworth.
We are within 2 years of a General Election and I have been delighted to see the Labour Party nationally reaching out to a much wider coalition of interests. We are now looking and sounding like an administration in waiting in both national and local government. We will continue to work hard to earn people’s trust and confidence. To draw a line under the hypocrisy, sleaze, deceit and incompetence of a bedraggled Tory Party.
The Labour Party in Tamworth was moribund for several years but is now reviving and is becoming a credible force again. We are actively looking to recruit new members. We want our Party to be a place where everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, feels welcome and included. A true community Labour Party. Join us and we can bring real change to Tamworth.
To quote the late John Smith, The opportunity to serve (our country), that is all we ask
Chris Bain 