Gallery update, election campaign begins…..

Hi all,

As the clocks go back, it is again time for the thing that politicians, both local and national, either love or hate- the official start of the Election Campaign. Hour after hour, mile after mile, candidates and campaigners will try to persuade the electorate, ie. you and me, why their horse is the one you should back come May 7th.

Recent months have shown that this year’s General Election is going to be extremely difficult to predict, with the decline in enthusiasm for the ‘Big Two’ of Labour and Tory, and the growth of the ‘minor’ parties like UKIP and the Greens. There are bound to be endless polls that tell us nothing, and scores of TV interviews with the wannabe PMs that do similar. However, my attention is unsurprisingly going to be on the Local Election here in Radcliffe, as I attempt to get re-elected and continue to represent the place where I live, work and raise my family- the ward of Radcliffe East.

Things are quite a way different this time though, as I am proudly standing as an Independent candidate, without party pressure to promote certain policies or agendas, without being Whipped to put my family 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th behind the needs of the party, and realistically without the party propaganda machine behind me. This plays a major part in getting any candidate elected, providing financial, physical and technological support in running the campaign. So, it will be tough, but I am up for the challenge, as I can proudly say that every leaflet I put out, every door I knock on, every tweet or message I send, will come DIRECTLY from me, and however many people vote for me it will be because they believe in what I am trying to achieve for them, not just based on the colour of my rosette.

I am more focused and determined than ever before to promote the values, needs and wants of the residents of Radcliffe East throughout this campaign, and whatever the end result I will be proud to have not only taken part but also to be the local candidate promoting local issues. In the next five and a half weeks I’ll be setting out in more detail why my friends, neighbours and residents should #livelocalvotelocal, but in the meantime please get in touch in the usual ways if you wish to help support my campaign in any way.

My best,

Matt.

PS. I’ve added a Gallery page to the blog, hope people like it! Thought I’d best mention it as that was the original intention of this post!