Category Archives: Voting

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24 Apr 2015

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East Devon Tories, General Election, Hugo Swire, Voting

Major Tory donor benefits from Government advertising and Tory election visits

The Independent – JCB and its billionaire owners donated more than £1 million to the Conservative party in the financial year 2014-15, Electoral Commission records show.  The company was subsequently featured prominently in Government-sponsored and promoted advertising.  The Independent states

…”JCB’s headquarters in Staffordshire has been used by the Government as the location for several prominent speeches, announcements and PR visits.

Downing Street chose it as the location for David Cameron’s long-awaited speech on immigration last November, which generated a large amount of media exposure for the construction and equipment firm.

George Osborne visited the company immediately after delivering his 2013 Autumn Statement, again attracting media coverage for JCB. 

Transparency data revealed that the firm smoothed the trip for the Chancellor by providing a helicopter, meaning he did not waste too much time travelling up north for the PR stunt.

Other UKEF publications that feature JCB include the promotional brochure ‘How UK Export Finance is Helping UK Business: Making Exports Happen’ and another document titled ‘Competitive export finance for growth’.

JCB and the Bamford family have donated nearly £6 million to the Conservative party. 

Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB and his brother Mark are long-term supporters of the Tories and together with Lord Bamford’s son George, the three of them have personally donated more than £2 million to the Conservative party since the Electoral Commission obliged parties to disclose donations over £7,500 in 2001. 

Donations from three companies owned by the family – JC Bamford Excavators Ltd, JCB Research and JCB Sales Ltd – total £4 million.

Labour said government ministers had “serious questions to answer”. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Ashworth said: “This smacks of cronyism. It seems taxpayers’ money is being spent promoting a major Tory donor.

“The Tories are ramping up advertising spending in advance of the election, looking after their mates and their electoral interests in the process. People expect better and will not accept public funds being used in this way.”

A Conservative party spokesman said: “We are proud to be backed by a great British success story, a British company that employs thousands of people here in the UK and operates around the globe.

“Unlike Labour, donations to the Conservative party do not buy our policies, our leader of our candidates.“

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/cash-for-adverts-major-tory-donor-benefits-from-governments-advertising-spending-spree-10197056.html

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24 Apr 2015

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Democracy, East Devon Alliance, East Devon Tories, General Election, Hugo Swire, Independent Councillors, Latest news, Transparency, Voting

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When is a Tory not a Tory?

When standing for a town council, of course: http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/1051007/sidmouth-north.pdf
Confusing for voters, though, when the very same Stuart Hughes (or a different one?) was the proposer for Tory PPC Hugo Swire. See  http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/1050699/spn-nop-sps.pdf
EDW note: The second link, above, has a useful list of polling stations…which voters are sometimes unsure of. 
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24 Apr 2015

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General Election, Independent Councillors, Latest news, Voting

‘Great Support for Candidate who Cares’ (WMN letters)

Here’s the link:  http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/WMN-Letters-Great-support-candidate-cares/story-26373893-detail/story.html

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21 Apr 2015

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East Devon Alliance, Voting

‘Huge leap’ forward in fight to save Honiton day centre

Pullman’s View from Honiton reports, ‘Jackie Wadsworth founded the now fast-progressing project to bring day care for older people back to the town.’   Front page story here: HonitonViewFrom21stApril2015 .

Town Councillor Jackie, is also standing as an  Independent candidate for the District Council, with the East Devon Alliance who claim to be ‘Independents working for you’. We see what they mean!

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21 Apr 2015

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Voting

Brilliant: half a million voters registered yesterday (but too late now)

“The Electoral Commission said there have been 2,296,530 online applications to register to vote since its campaign began on 16 March. Of these, 707,171 applications were made by 16-24 year olds.

The previous record for single day sign-ups was 166,000 on 5 February – National Voter Registration Day. The third highest was 123,000 online applications on Sunday, 19 April – following David Cameron’s appearance on BBC’s Andrew Marr show. The next highest was 110,000 on Thursday, 16 April – the day of the BBC’s live election debate featuring the leaders of the five main opposition parties.

Research carried out in 2014 suggested that 7.5 million people eligible to vote were not on the electoral register.

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21 Apr 2015

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Democracy, Latest news, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Voting

Meet the candidates…if they deign to turn up!!

Town Council hustings tonight in Sidmouth (21 April, 6.00pm -7.30 pm, in Sidmouth College).

Organised by Vision Group for Sidmouth  (VgS)   http://www.visionforsidmouth.org

Wonder if any of the current councillors will show their mettle and be there to face questions?  Only ONE  representative came to the crowded VgS District Council hustings  last week,  with lame excuses for the rest.

Voters’ verdict: Could do better?

 

 

 

 

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21 Apr 2015

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Democracy, Environment (local), General Election, Hugo Swire, Independent Councillors, Voting

TONIGHT: Spotlight to feature East Devon’s Independent Candidate for Parliament

The spotlight will again be on Claire Wright and her bid for Parliament in the May 7th election. See her on BBC TV this evening, on the local ‘Spotlight’ news.

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19 Apr 2015

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General Election, Voting

“Women age 18-24 least likely to vote” : PLEASE PROVE THIS WRONG!

According to an article in today’s Observer magazine, women 18-24 are the least likely to vote.

Please prove them wrong. If you have not registered it is still not too late – tomorrow is the last day – even if you will not be in the country or away from home you can have a postal vote. The easy link is here:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Remember: you will continue to need the health service for many years to come, you may need more education for yourself and/or for your children and you will need childcare if you must continue to work and you will need a secure home.

Vote for the candidate that you think will protect your interests.

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18 Apr 2015

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East Devon Tories, EDDC, Latest news, Voting

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Cameron-style, local Tories avoiding open debate?

Further to our post (16 April) about this week’s hustings organised by Vision Group for Sidmouth (‘Vigorous and optimistic public meeting with candidates’ ),  East Devon Watch has been reliably informed that the Council meeting the 6 Tories used as an excuse for not attending had finished in time for Cllr Christine Drew to get there…. Meaning the others could have made it too. Not the fault of VgS that they did not come!

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16 Apr 2015

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Democracy, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, Latest news, Voting

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Vigorous and optimistic public meeting with candidates

Congratulations to Vision Group for Sidmouth (VgS) for organising last night’s hustings, in a particularly civil atmosphere, thanks to the VgS Chair, Dave Bramley.
All candidates standing in Sidmouth and Sidford Wards, for election to East Devon District Council, had been invited. ONLY ONE current District Councillor, Christine Drew, turned up, making the absence of all the others appear all the more reprehensible.
Candidates who did take this opportunity to engage with the public were: Dawn Manley (East Devon Alliance Independent,iEDA, Sidford Ward); Matt Booth (iEDA, Sidmouth Town Ward);Cathy Gardner (iEDA, Sidmouth Town); Marianne Rixson (iEDA, Sidford);Christine Drew (Conservative, Sidmouth Rural); David Barratt (Independent, Sidmouth Rural); John Dyson (Independent, Sidmouth Town).

A broad range of topics were raised, including affordable housing; interaction between Town/ District/ and County Councils; current EDDC management style: neighbourhood plans, etc. All were thoughtfully addressed.

Hats off to the iEDA Independents,for their positive message of how together they could improve the way things are done at District Council. Their pooled knowledge of local issues, and individual expertise in such things as sources for grants; tourism and marketing; and most urgently, the importance of encouraging neighbourhood plans, was impressive.

Next VgS hustings, for Sidmouth Town Council candidates, is at Sidmouth College, 6pm, on Tuesday 21 April. Wonder how many candidates will take advantage of this pre-election platform offered to them? We’ll see.

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15 Apr 2015

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East Devon Alliance, EDDC, General Election, Latest news, Voting

As election looms, only a week left to make sure you can vote

If you haven’t checked that you are registered to vote, time is running out!
The deadlines for registering, and for postal votes, are in this press release (14 April) from EDDC:

Last chance to join the register before polling on 7 May

Residents of East Devon are reminded that there’s just under a week left to
ensure you have registered as an elector and can vote on 7 May. The last day
for receipt of applications is Monday 20 April.

If you are already registered, but want to have a postal vote rather than
going to a polling station on election day, time is also running out. You
must apply by 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday 21 April to ensure you can vote by post.

Details of all the candidates in the Parliamentary election and for district
and parish council wards are now on EDDC’s website at:
http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/elections-and-registering-to-vote/election-documents

The website also carries information about the opening times and locations
of polling stations around the district.

Register online

Don’t forget that under the new system of Individual Elector Registration
(IER) it is up to each individual to register, not the head of the household
as before. If you still haven’t registered to vote, you can do so online at:
http://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

To get help with registering to vote or to ask for a postal voting
application form, you can also contact the district council’s Electoral
Services team on 01395 517402, or email: electoralservices@eastdevon.gov.uk

With the General Election and local elections now less than a month away,
being registered as a voter is obviously necessary so you can have your say.
But there are other advantages too – like finding it easier to get a credit
card, take out a loan or even obtain a mobile phone.

Don’t delay. Do it today!

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14 Apr 2015

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Democracy, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, Latest news, Voting

REMINDER: Meet the Sidmouth Candidates for District Council, TODAY, Weds 15 April, St Francis Hall, Woolbrook

As you can see on our HOME page, several pre-election hustings are being organised by independent bodies around the District. This evening, there’s one in Sidmouth, where for the first time, every single District Councillor is being challenged by Independent candidates. So, tonight’s hustings is a particularly newsworthy event for the press, who will be there.

St Francis Hall, Woolbrook, will be open from 7.30pm, and the hustings will start at around 7.50pm. Questions in advance, please, to  Dave Bramley (VgS Chair) or submit them on arrival, to the organisers.
For details of the meeting, and to contact Dave Bramley, click here: https://www.visionforsidmouth.org/calendar/2015/april/district-council-hustings.aspx

The full list of Sidmouth Election Candidates is on the front page of the latest edition (14 April) of Pullman’s View from Sidmouth. You can’t miss the headline: ‘Independent alliance target Sidmouth’!

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6 Apr 2015

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General Election, Voting

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Force young people to vote – even for “none of the above”

But why just 18 year olds (the article says to get them into the habit of voting) and what if ” none of the above” is the majority choice!

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Young-people-forced-vote/story-26287132-detail/story.html

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23 Mar 2015

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East Devon Electoral/Returning Officer, EDDC, Voting

Urgent election registration information for those who THINK they are registered

From a reader:

For info, a neighbour of mine emailed the electoral services to check he was eligible to vote… he was told that he was on the register to vote, the only thing is…..
They got his name completely wrong…. nobody of that name has ever lived at his address….. I have advised him to phone…
This is very worrying…

To check your registration entry (or to register)contact the Electoral Registration Team on 01395 517402 or at electoralservices@eastdevon.gov.uk

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15 Mar 2015

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General Election, Voting

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Missing voters being urged to register

” … A drive to recapture the nearly one million voters who went missing from the electoral roll in 2013 starts today. A £2.4m advertising campaign, featuring secretly-shot footage of members of the public flipping out when deprived of basics such as tomato ketchup or the use of a lift, has been designed to make it clear that, unless people sign up by 20 April, they will not be able to vote 17 days later.

It seems like a mad dash. Research carried out last year showed that a quarter of 18 and 19-year-olds, and the same proportion of black people, were unregistered. Last month, the Commission reported that there were 920,000 fewer people on the register in December than expected, mainly students and those who have moved house and failed to register.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jenny-watson-chair-of-the-electoral-commission-the-idea-of-marking-an-x-in-a-box-probably-seems-completely-alien-10109799.html

Well, we know where at least 6,000 of them were – here in East Devon!

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3 Mar 2015

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Claire Wright, Democracy, General Election, Hugo Swire, Latest news, Voting

Ottery General Election upset on the cards?

An increasing number of people seem to think so…http://www.heart.co.uk/exeter/news/local/ottery-general-election-upset-on-cards