As I lived and campaigned in Dartford for 14 years I know a little bit about the politics there, did you know Margaret Thatcher stood for Parliament for the first time in Dartford and I was a Parish Councillor there as well? - facts you may or may not have known.
Just recently, in the last ten minutes I have seen various Tweets and emails that Howard Stoate MP is to stand down blaming the new rules on second jobs, as he is also a practising GP.
I have never heard such a load of tosh in my life, the Labour Party in Dartford has been in a decline over recent years since the Tories took control of the Council and key members of the Labour Party passed away or moved out of the area. Labour have taken Dartford for granted for some years.
The volume of literature had gone from regular labour leaflets to a letter from Howard Stoate now and again, when I moved to Scotland I emailed Howard and mentioned that if the local Labour Party didn't pull it's finger out and get going again he was doomed.
The local Tories are divided on the choice of their candidate but fair play he did get within 706 votes last time, but the Liberal Democrats candidate Peter Bucklitsch and his amazing Agent, Andrew Reeves ran the most intense campaign for some time that the Lib Dems had done thus preventing Dartford becoming a Tory gain in 2005.
I have said for some considerable time that Howard Stoate would lose at the next General Election so his decision not to stand does not surprise me at all.
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This week’s council by-elections
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Fifteen principal authority council by-elections this week, with 13 Liberal
Democrat candidates - one up on the last time these seats were up.
2 comments:
I don't think Stoate would have lost at the next election. There may be some amazing alternate candidates out there, but as Dartford resident the only one I am aware of is Stoate. Here's the real problem - prospective MPs and councillors only ever come out of their homes when there's something in it for them. Between elections, where are they?
I originally got involved with Dr. Stoat after the death of my mother-in-law when British Gas threatend to take her to court over non-payment of her gas bill. The fact that she was dead and her Bank was handling the estate did not seem to matter to the Gas Board. Dr. Stoate helped sort out this matter.
As a result of his assistance I engaged him and his team in a multitude of other "events" and although their replies were not always what I expeceted they replied to every single comminication. I am not a "natural labour" voter but whoever follows on from Dr. Stoate will have a tough job to do.
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