Ward by Ward: The Homesteads: One of UKIP’s best chances?

By
Staff Reporter
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72
449

UP until 2007, there was a Labour representative among the three councillors in The Homesteads. It looks like somewhere along the way, Labour lost interest or could not, like Tony Benson, find a councillor that was embedded in the ward and prepared to fight for it.

Cynics might suggest that the unknown South Ockendon resident, Jennifer Smith, who has been chosen to fight the Homesteads, is a token candidate that is not under any pressure to get out and about in the ward. That same cynic might suggest that this is a deliberate tactic from Labour who are privately hoping that UKIP might dislodge the Conservatives in The Homesteads.

Labour’s Richard Speight ran a cracking campaign in 2011 and deserved to get 1055 votes. In 2012, Liam Preston was nigh on invisible and the vote dropped to 704 votes.

Meanwhile, this has, as we have said before, been a fertile political area for UKIP. Peter Prendergast polled 567 in 2012 and 485 in 2011. The local UKIP man must really fancy of his chances and could be the dark horse of 2014.

That would be a shame on sitting Conservative councillor, James Halden. In our little political bubble, it has been a case for James of “Growing in public” but at least he puts himself out there and he has, if we say so ourselves, developed a good chin.
It could also be a case of what were you like at your work, when you were 22?

James has a fine grasp of all the issues that are central to residents in the Stanford and Corringham area from DP World to crime in Balstonia Park. Yes, he get things wrong (Corringham Police Station) but he also gets a lot right and is becoming very adept at asking difficult questions.

The chamber would be poorer without him and we are sure that James will go on to make a fine contribution to civic society over the next decades. However, the voters don’t inhabit the same bubble as we do and so it may get very very close.

If the Tories only held off Labour by 111 and UKIP by 248 then this is going to be close. It will take a big effort by Team Halden to sway the “Bloody nose” brigade.

YT prediction: UKIP gain by 124.

halden

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72 COMMENTS

  1. Where is the UKIP and Labour candidate for this Ward?

    Could they not be bothered for an interview? Pretty basic stuff if you want to get elected, in fact I have not seen any UKIP candidate in the ward by ward analysis from your Thurrock.

    Are they all just paper candidates?

  2. When preparing for our Ockendon piece, we rang Thurrock UKIP organiser (and Aveley cllr) Robert Ray, to ask for an interview with Ock candidate (Jan Baker). No reply. We then stumbled across UKIP whilst we were out and about in Ockendon on Sat but were told they would need permission off head office. So, we will endeavour…

  4. I’m not suprised any UKIP interviews have to be sanctioned by head office considering the range of barmy views their candidates seem to hold! I’d rather they spoke about their policies so they can get an airing rather claiming gay people are responsible for flooding, suggesting Lenny Henry should emigrate or branding Mo Farah as african despite growing up in London!!!!! Such a shame that Politics has sunk to this….but then again apparently UKIP favour a flat tax where a cleaner pays the same as a millionaire so perhaps it’s best they just keep their mouth shut full stop!

  5. Let me get this straight, no UKIP candidate for the local elections can speak to the press without prior permission from head office? What have they got to hide? Maybe they dont actually have any LOCAL policy views and Europe is their only issue? It says in the article that the UKIP local election candidate is from the Homesteads, so surely he has something to say to the local people or as suggested by Horndon, are his views that extreme that he would rather keep them to himself as he may upset the majority of the right minded normal folks in the Homesteads?

  6. littletommytucker – it wasn’t so long ago that the Conservatives in Thurrock refused to speak with YourThurrock and went into a big sulk.

  7. Thanks for the history lesson Ed but dont see how that is relevant, we have local elections NOW and UKIP members are afraid to speak to the press because ?
    I dont know about you but all I have received from this group is a leaflet explaining why we should levae Europe, something that I dont believe a local councillor can do anything about, unless you know better? It would be nice to hear their views about LOCAL issues especially in this ward as it is a local person!!

  8. Who knows? One hopes local election candidates would know about all the issues in their ward and would want the extra freed publicity YourThurrock would give them. Perhaps UKIP should have faith in their local candidates?

  11. Why are the Ukip hiding? (apart from when their thugs throw stones at out MP). Are they worried their candidates might share some of their offensive views? Do any of them want to send people back to a black country, or that rape is legal n marriage or that storms are because of gay marriage? All offensive views held by the Ukip supporters and candidates. No wonder they have been labelled nutters, fruitcakes and closet racists by our Prime Minister.

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