Your local party continues to be an active voice for our area. Our major priority is getting representatives elected, so they can make a difference to the lives of people in our area. We also run specific campaigns on local and national issues. The party is also a place where progressive politics can be discussed in a local and national context.
Recent News
Local Elections
After much hard work, your local party achieved its goal of winning two wards in the Clacton area. This increased the Labour party representation on the council to 8 seats. We are now the largest party in the ruling coalition. This is the first time that Labour have been part of the team running the council for many years.
The party won in two of five target seats. Peter Kotz took first place in Coppins Ward, where Geoff Ely was only 3 votes away from winning the second seat. Ian Lennard was also in first place in Bluehouse where Martin Suker was only 25 votes away from also winning a seat.
Our Candidate in Pier ward, Donny Standing, achieved a 9.8% swing to Labour and came up just short.
We also achieved a good swing of over 5% in Walton by Chris Bee, in one of our other target seats.
This is the first time in many years that we have been able to stand candidates in every ward. There were other significant swings to Labour elsewhere. It also allows us to better assess where our voters live allowing us to target resources for next time.
Thank you to all our members who put their names forward to stand. It really helps!
Campaigning
Well, what a campaign! Campaigning started back in the middle of last year when our target wards were identified.
We decided that our main form of campaigning would be delivering leaflets. In target wards, voters should have received 3 separate leaflets outlining our Labour priorities. We also delivered leaflets in other wards. In all, over 40,000 leaflets were delivered, several pairs of shoes were worn through and hundreds of thousands of steps walked.
Social media was also used to push our local agenda. The size of the campaigning team increased as the election got closed. Members also attended events in the town to get our Labour message out.
Our members were very visible campaigning. Tendring Council Labour Group Leader, Ivan Henderson, told the Gazette, “A lot of people have told us that Labour candidates are the only ones they’ve seen on the doorstep this election, while others have shied away.”
Social
After the elections, a social was held at the Railway Club in Clacton There was a buffet and a disco.
Many members attended and it was an opportunity to celebrate the results. Our socials are regular events. They are a great opportunity to get together with other members in less formal setting. Do come along next time and get to meet the team.
Up and Coming
All Members Meeting
An All Members Meeting (AMM) is the decision-making body for your local party. If you are a local member, you are welcome to come along.
They are held at Sam’s Hall in the town centre on the last Monday of every month.
Meetings are conducted in a friendly and polite manner. We discuss our local campaign, party activity, local issues, and national politics. If you have not attended before (or for a while), do come along, and get your voice heard. We also have video conferencing available if you would prefer to join us virtually.
Young Labour Social
Our new Young Labour Committee members, Jay Weaver, is keen to organise a social event. It will be an opportunity to meet other Young Labour Members, discuss the party and politics. We are also keen on any ideas for getting young people in the area more actively involved in politics.
We want to hear about what issues most affect young people and what we can do to help. Email us to let us know you are interested.
Future Campaigns
As soon as our last campaign ended, we turned our attention to the next set of elections. In May 2025 seats on Essex County Council are up for election.
These are very important elections to a body which significantly affects the life of everyone living in the area. We want to increase the Labour representation on that body. We intend to deliver leaflets, canvass, attend local events such as Pride and campaign digitally.
Campaigning now will also help our general election campaign, which must be called before the end of January 2025. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved. We are hearing that local people are increasingly disillusioned with the current government.
Do think about helping to get rid of them and electing a Labour team instead.