Parish Notices

Once we had repaired to a place of liquid refreshment, and while all of 27 Conservative MPs were expressing any sort of Euroscepticism by voting for what was admittedly the wrong amendment, the conversation turned to the Post Office, which was tellingly denounced by a senior local Labour figure and strong David Miliband supporter as "a State dinosaur" in urgent need of privatisation, whereas its public ownership was vigorously defended by a Tory farmer.

Later, the first of those and an Ed Miliband supporter who now denies that he is ex-SDP (but I am not convinced, and I am not the only one) argued, albeit in good spirit, as to which of the Miliband brothers was better equipped to restore traditional Christian moral values and iron immigration controls; it was presupposed by both that such a double restoration was the point and purpose of the Labour Party. If it were still like that in actual fact, then I might still be in it. Anyway, electoral reform is on its way, and then we really can have such a proper Labour Party. With, if it matters in the slightest, me in it.

In the meantime, the ridiculous by-election is on 3rd February. The Conservatives are not participating in this waste of money, and good for them. By voting against the two Lib Dems, you would be voting against the Coalition, thus against its cuts in central government funding of the unitary County Council, thus against the withdrawal of the discretionary grant to the Parish Council, and thus against the 2.5% precept increase necessitated by the combination of that cut and the forcing of a Parish Council by-election by the only Coalition party that is contesting it.

As to the question of whom to vote for, rather than against, there are two Labour candidates, and also, as an Independent, the widow of a sometime Labour Chairman of the Council, a very distinguished person in her own right. Here in our microcosm of Middle England, we already have three Independent Parish Councillors who are former Labour Party members (though not, in one case, a former Labour Councillor) from anything but the Hard Left, and we are an interesting cross-section of what a new party would look like, both on our own and when certain other people are mixed in on the assumption of a realignment brought about by electoral reform. No harm would be done by adding to that mix. No harm at all. And remember, you have two votes. You can still vote Labour as well. Just don't vote Lib Dem.