election special 2017
aldbourne & ramsbury
Fran Bishop is standing for the Liberal Democrat Party in Aldbourne & Ramsbury: 278 votes, 17.74%
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Jason Haythornthwaite – Labour: 147 votes, 9.38% I live in Aldbourne with my wife and two children. I am standing to try and create greater fairness and more inclusiveness in local policy. Why you should vote for me: Too often, when voting in local elections, we follow our habits and repeat our voting patterns from national elections. Local Elections are different, they are about what is good for our community. When we see the kind of reductions in local services that have been occurring in our towns and villages, we need to send a clear message that austerity measures being pursued by this Conservative Council have gone too far. I am a strong believer in providing and protecting local services. Whilst current councillors may produce a list of numbers from their time in office, without context these numbers are meaningless. We all know that budgets have been cut and services reduced whilst responsibility for so many things that make our villages pleasant places to live in are being passed down to Parish Councils meaning an inevitable rise in the parish precept element of our council tax. I am a former Parish Councillor within the district and currently volunteer as a youth coach and committee member of Ramsbury Football Club. I believe that the more people can take an active role in their local area the richer the lives would be for all sections of our community. If elected I will engage actively with the community to promote genuine social inclusion. Many hard working people in this area are being let down by their local representatives. If elected, I would ensure that there is a voice which does not blindly follow a nationally dictated party line. So often I have heard people express the opinion that they don’t vote because they don’t feel that it can make a difference. If we don’t vote or keep voting for the same people when decisions are being made that we don’t agree with, we won’t change things. Let your voice be heard on May 4th, let them see that we won’t stand by whilst unacceptable decisions are made in our name |
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James Sheppard – Conservative: (Elected) 1,056 votes, 67.39% I was elected Unitary Councillor for Aldbourne and Ramsbury in 2013 and It has been a great privilege to represent your interest and concerns at County level for the last four years. I grew up in Aldbourne and being a local person I can relate to village issues. I recognise the importance of working closely with Parish Councils and regular attendance at community meetings. During my term of office I have managed to facilitate the resurfacing of many of the local roads in Aldbourne, Ramsbury, Baydon and Chilton Foliat. I have also been instrumental in getting funding for the major drainage programme in Aldbourne which alleviated the serious long term ground water and sewage problems, along with drainage clearance in Froxfield. I have also supported many local organisations and activities in my role as Chairman of Marlborough Area Board through which we have offered funding to many worthy projects for example, the new access road to Aldbourne Recreation Centre, refurbishment work in Baydon Village Hall, Ramsbury Play Area improvement and Froxfield Memorial hall exterior doors. As Chair of the Community Transport Group I have also supported many road safety improvements. These grants have brought many benefits to the villages and the people who reside there. I am passionate about the local landscape in which we live and work. I am a farmer and was chairman of Wiltshire NFU from 2013-15 and I am currently the County Representative on the national NFU Council. My special interest is music, in particular brass bands. I am proud to be the current Chairman of the highly ranked and successful Aldbourne band. Over the past four years as your Councillor, I have gained much experience and knowledge that, with your support, I can use on your behalf over the next four years. I hope that my achievements working on your behalf at Parish, Area and County level will persuade you to vote for me again in this election on May 4th. |
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Brian Utton – Green Party: 86 votes, 5.49% There are Green Party councillors up and down the country who have made a positive change in the lives of local people in their areas including: introducing measures to improve air quality; maintaining and enhancing public transport provision; supporting small local businesses with reduced rates and encouraging their councils to source locally; enabling community energy projects; combating fuel poverty by giving grants for home insulation; providing youth services; and saving the council money by improving energy efficiency of council buildings to name but a few. Wiltshire council does not yet have a Green councillor – something we are keen to correct. In these elections we are standing in 8 out of the 17 wards in the Devizes constituency area. However, in the Marlborough area the Green Party has chosen not to stand against candidates who have a good chance of winning and who we believe will promote ideas such as those mentioned above, as we do not want to split the vote thereby denying them a place on the council. In Aldbourne and Ramsbury this is not the case, so we are standing to give people a choice and so people can show their support for Green Party policies. I have lived in Ogbourne St George with my family since 2005 where I sit on the parish council. Having previously worked for BP for 30 years, I am now semi retired. I devote some of my spare time to working with Citizens’ Climate Lobby UK, an organisation which engages with Parliament to promote a carbon fee and dividend energy policy. This policy, already adopted by the Green Party and aligned with the views of leading economists and corporations – including key fossil fuel companies, avoids potentially catastrophic climate change whilst growing the economy and is particularly advantageous to the health and wealth of low and middle income households. To ask about local issues or to find out more about the Green Party or Citizens’ Climate Lobby UK, please contact me on brianrutton@gmail.com.
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Sheppard, James Henry | (Elected) | (Conservative) | 1056 | 67.39% |
Bishop, Fran | Liberal Democrats) | 278 | 17.74% | |
Haythornthwaite, Jason Steven | (Labour) | 147 | 9.38% | |
Utton, Brian Roy | (Green Party) | 86 | 5.49% |